An alarm to unconverted sinners

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I THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY,!
f Princeton, N. J. %

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BV 4920 .A65 1824
Alleine, Joseph, 163A-1668
An alarm to unconverted
sinners

SELECT
CHRISTIAN AUTHORS,

WITH

INTRODUCTORY ESSAYS.

i*

t,.-.

^

PUhi.UHKb hY WILLIAM Cf)Ll.lNS ';] a • i W

AN

ALARM

TO

UNCONVERTED SINNERS,

BY THE '

REV. JOSEPH ALLEINE.

WITH

AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY,

BY

ANDREW THOMSON, D.D.

MINISTER OF ST. GEORGE's, EDINBURGH.

SECOND EDITION.

GLASGOW:
PRINTED FOR CHALMERS AND COLLINS;

WILLIAM WHYTE AND CO. AND WILLIAM OLIPHANT, EDINBURGH
R M. TIMS, DUBLIN ;
ANT) G. AND W. B. WHITTAKER, LONDON.

1824.

Printed by "W. Collins & Co,
Glasgow.

FHIHCJETGH
THEOLOGICAL

INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.

There are two principal modes of persuading men
to repent and believe the Gospel. The one con-
sists in representing to them the " love of God," in
setting before them all the blessinfjs which that love
is ready to bestow, and in winning them over by its
alluring influence, to a cordial and practical submis-
sion to the divine will. The other consists in giving
them a plain and honest exhibition of the " terror of
the Lord," in pointing out to them the wrath of the
Almighty against those who commit sin, in pressing
upon their attention the dreadful consequences of con-
tinuing to be " enemies to him in their minds and
by wicked works ;" and thus creating such alarm in
them as to make them abandon their evil ways, and
" flee for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set be-
fore them" in the Gospel.

To this latter mode of persuasion there are some
who have such a strong aversion, that every person
who employs it is proscribed by them, as one by
whom the nature of religion is misrepresented and
its influence impaired. He is a gloomy fanatic,
whose imagination delights to brood over the images
of misery and despair. Or he is a merciless bigot,
who has no regard to the comfort of his fellow-men,

VI

but takes pleasure in torturing them witli unneces-
sary alarm, respecting their present condition and
future prospects. Or he is a candidate for low-
popularity — appealing to the coarsest feelings and
the most stupid prejudices of the vulgar, that he
may excite their astonishment, and attract their
admiration. Or he is an enemy to good taste —
sacrificing all that is gracious in sentiment, and
gentle in language, to a passion for the dark and
liorrific. In short, there is scarcely an epithet of
ridicule, or of reprobation, which is not applied to
the minister who employs the terror of the Lord
to persuade men. And while the objection to this
particular mode of addressing sinners is chiefly in-
sisted on by those who have no faith in Christianity,
or no serious regard for what Christianity teaches,
it is also countenanced and urged by not a few who
have experienced the power of genuine godliness,
and are evidently walking in the ways of salvation.

We are willing enough to concede, that it is
wrong to be always, or too frequently, dwelling on
the terror of the Lord. We concede, also, that
there are terms which it is neither scriptural nor
proper to make use of in discussing this subject.
We concede, moreover, that there may be a danger
of hurting weak and delicate minds, if care be not
taken to unfold it with prudence, and to place it in
its proper connexion. But these concessions will
apply to any other subject as well as to that which
is now before us. It is not right to be perpetually
insisting on any single topic, however interesting in
itself, or however important in its influence. There

Vll

is no doctrine within the compass of religion which
may not be spoken of, and enforced in language, as
pernicious as it is inappropriate and incorrect. And
great indiscretion may be committed, and very in-
jurious effects may be produced, by certain modes
of explaining even the most pleasing and acceptable
discoveries of the Gospel. Granting, however, that
the exceptions I have alluded to were peculiar to the
more awful of its statements, that forms no sufficient
reason for inducing those who are concerned in
expounding Christianity, either to withhold these
statements altogether, or to present them with a
tame and compromising aspect, or to introduce them
to notice in such a way as to indicate that they are
of inferior moment, and should command little re-
spect. We hold that they are of unspeakable con-
sequence ; that they deserve the most serious con-
sideration; that they should not merely be brought
forward, but brought forward unmodified and undis-
guised; that they should be made to bear, with as
much as possible of their native character and ten-
dency, on the minds of those to whom they are de-
livered; that the persons to whom they are offensive
in this shape may trace that dislike to them which
they are so ready to manifest, in some cases to in-
fidelity, and in other cases to ignorance; that those
who fly from the preaching of such ministers, and
neglect the writings of such authors, as give them a
distinct and prominent place in their discussions,
show neither faith, nor wisdom, nor consistency;
and that to persuade men by the terror of the Lord
is at once a rational, a scriptural, a useful, and a

VIU

necessary method of inculcating the Gospel, and of
procuring for it its true converts, and its legitimate
triumphs. We hold all this, and we shall endea-
vour to maintain it in the sequel of this Essay.

In xhejirst place, the terror of the Lord consti-
tutes an obvious and essential part of divine truth.

Were the doctrine which asserts it a mere fiction,
the creature of an extravagant fancy, or the inven-
tion of an interested priesthood, we should deem it
both foolish and criminal, to give it any place in a
serious discourse which was intended to influence
either the creed or the conduct of mankind. Were
it nothing more than a probable conjecture, we
might mention it, indeed, and leave it to its own
weifrht: but we should not consider ourselves entitled
to speak of it, and to press it, at the risk of giving
offence to those whom we were attempting to edify.
Were it only the result of a process of speculative
reasoning, though we might take advantage of it in
perfect consistency with what is uniformly done in
other matters of far less importance, still, even in that
case, we should not assert it with any dogmatism,
or insist upon it with much pertinacity. But it
falls under none of these descriptions. It possesses,
in the estimation of every one who believes the
Bible, the character of unquestionable truth. No
man can deny it, without being prepared to deny
every other statement which revelation contains:
for no language can be plainer, or more explicit,
than the language in which it is affirmed and pro-
claimed. It is as clearly and indubitably the doc-
trine of Scripture, that God is holy and just, as

tliat he is good and compassionate — that he hates
the workers of iniquity, as that he loves those who
fear and serve him — that he has ordained a hell, as
that he has prepared a heaven — that, on the day of
judgment, he will pronounce a sentence of condem-
nation on the wicked, as that he will pronounce a
sentence of acquittal on the righteous — that the for-
mer shall go away into everlasting punishment, as
that the latter shall go away into life eternal — that
the anguish of the condemned sinner is absolutely
certain and inconceivably great, as that the felicity
of the glorified saint rests upon the promise of un-
changeable faithfulness, and mocks at all our efforts
to describe or imafjine it.

There are some things in Scripture which are not
very plainly unfolded; and there are other things
which seem to be incidentally noticed, and to be placed
in rather a detached and isolated station. But this
doctrine of the terror of the Lord is none of them.
It stands forth in most distinct and intelligible state-
ment. It meets us at every step of our progress
through the sacred record. We have not gone be-
yond the third chapter of the book of Genesis, till we
see it embodied in the fact of our first parents being
driven out of Paradise, and of the very " ground be-
ing cursed for their sake." When we come to the
conclusion of the Apocalypse, we are required to carry
it along with us in that awful warning, that if we
" take away from the word of the book of this pro-
phecy, God shall take away our part out of the book
of life.'* And from the beffinninf]^ to the end of this
inspired Volume, it is held out to us in every variety
A3

X

of form that it can be made to assume — in that of
simple declaration — of formal threatening — of actual
infliction — of literal phraseology — of figurative re-
presentation— of individual experience — of every
thing that can instruct, and rouse, and impress the
mind ; and it is presented in relation to objects of
the most interesting nature and of the highest con-
sequence— to the character of the Supreme Being
— to the manifestation of his glory — to his govern-
ment of the universe — to the conduct and the des-
tinies of his apostate creatures — to the achievements
of his only-begotten Son — to the fate of this world,
with all its countless generations — to the vast scene
of retribution and eternity.

So much, in short, is Scripture pervaded by it, in
one way or another, that were we to abstract it from
every page and passage in which it occurs, we should
mutilate the record of our faith to an extent far be-
yond what those who have not examined the subject
would be ready to suppose, and render it, both in ap-
pearance and in reality, quite a different thing from
that revelation which we have actually received from
heaven. And if this be the case, surely it is too
much to demand of those who teach Christianity, that
they shall not announce the terror of the Lord at all;
or that, if they do touch upon that topic, it shall
be but rarely and slightly, and with as little as pos-
sible of what renders it alarming to the profligate,
and painful to the unbelieving. The simple cir-
cumstance, that it is a part of revealed truth, is
sufficient to justify us in making it a part of our
ministrations. The prominence that is given to it

XI

in the Bible, intimates that it is not only a reality,
but a reality of great moment; and that, in fairness,
it ought to be set forth without modification and
without scruple. And if, in declaring any portion
of the counsel of God, it be allowable to employ the
same diction, or diction as emphatic as that in which
his own word has expressed it, it is but seldom in-
deed that those who are acquainted with Scripture
language will have reason to complain of the teachers
of Christianity, for the strength and the plainness of
their speech, when they are denouncing the terror
of the Lord.

But while we thus intrench ourselves behind the
proposition, that the terror of the Lord constitutes
an obvious and essential part of divine truth, we
have to maintain, in the secofid place, that it is ne-
cessary for understanding the nature, and appreciat-
ing the value, of the Gospel; and that, without
bringing it fully into view, we could not even attach
any definite meaning to the terms which are used by
the sacred writers, when they are unfolding its cha-
racter and its consequences.

The Gospel scheme is a scheme of deliverance.
Its purpose is to rescue men from certain evils in
which they are involved as transgressors of the
divine law. And it proposes to accomplish that,
purpose by a magnificent apparatus of means, which
is minutely detailed to us, and held out as equally
admirable and efficient. But it is perfectly evident,
that till we look to the nature and extent of the
evils which are to be removed, we can have no cor-
rect idea of the fitness or efficacy of the methods by

xu

which their removal is to be effected. We cannot
perceive these ourselves; we cannot make them ob-
vious to others; and we cannot successfully recom-
mend the plan, to which they are alleged to belong,
to the adoption, the respect, or the acquiescence of
those for whose benefit it is intended. And, even
though we could give some demonstration of its wis-
dom, or produce some assurance that it is well cal-
culated to promote the object for which it was de-
vised, still, how is it possible to have any clear and
impressive notion of its importance, its necessity, and
its value, unless there be some adequate conceptions
of the danger and the misery from which it is de-
signed to save its votaries?

Suppose that the Gospel were expounded to
those who are yet unacquainted with it, and that it
were expounded in such a way as to exclude from
the exposition all that refers to God's hatred of sin
— his indignation against transgressors — and the
penalties with which he is to visit rebellion and dis-
obedience ; what meaning, in that case, I would ask,
could they attach to its leading and fundamental
tenets? What suitableness could they perceive in
its most important provisions? What powerful
reason could they discover for the earnestness with
which it is addressed to the world, and for the gra-
titude and joy which it claims from those to whom
it is communicated? Or suppose the promulgation
of it to be accompanied with a statement of the evils
from which it is to deliver them, but these -evils to
be so reduced in magnitude, and so veiled in soft
and ambiguous phrase, as to excite no emotions of

Xlll

alarm; still, I would ask, could they recognise any
just accordance between the end to be attained, and
the means by which its attainment is to be wrought
out? Could they see any thing like necessity or
expediency in the incarnation of the Son of God,
and in all the shame and agonies of his cross? And
could they be prepared for contemplating that, and
all the other mysterious operations to which the
Almighty has had recourse in the dispensation of
the Gospel, with feelings of wonder and adoration,
bearing any resemblance to those with which it is
spoken of by the Apostles who were commissioned
to teach it? But let the Gospel be preached and
expounded as it is really found in the inspired record ;
let there be no concealment of the terror of the
Lord; let that be proclaimed, without qualification or
reserve; let there be a faithful picture given of the
malignity of sin — of the avenging justice of God
with respect to it — of the destruction with which
its impenitent servants shall be finally overwhelmed,
— and then every one must see, that in these there
is something like an adequate cause for that extra-
ordinary interposition of the Godhead, which is de-
veloped in the Scriptures; that they afibrd a rational
account of the counsels of the Almighty Father—
of the humiliation and sufferings of his beloved Son
— of the condescension, and strivings, and gifts of
his Holy Spirit ; that they fully and satisfactorily
explain all the strong and impassioned language in
which the Gospel speaks of the divine mercy, and of
the manner in which it has been manifested, and of
the obligations which it imposes upon every one to

XIV

whom it is offered, or by whom it has been expe-
rienced.

We have supposed the Gospel to be expounded
without any distinct or forcible declaration of the
terror of the Lord ; and we appeal to those who are
conversant with its plan, whether it could, in that
case, be understood or admired by any that are not
previously acquainted with it. But really such a
supposition could not be realised. We may safely
challenge the most skilful and ingenious of meta^
physical divines, to give any exposition of the Gospel
which does not expressly contain, or necessarily im-
ply, a declaration of the evils which it professes to
abolish. They may speak of many things which it
comprehends, without adverting to these, and no
inconsistency may strike us ; but the inconsistency
will immediately appear, when they attempt to state
any of its peculiar and characteristic doctrines; and
they will find an insuperable difficulty in giving us
a connected view of these doctrines, independently
of, or detached from, the doctrine of man^s miserable
condition as a sinner, and of his hopeless condition
as an impenitent and unbelieving sinner. They
may dilate on the goodness of God ; but that is not
the Gospel, and has no necessary connection with it;
for man would have experienced God's goodness
just as much as he does at present, if he had acted
so as to render the Gospel unnecessary; and his good-
ness must be the theme of admiration and praise
among all those sinless beings to whose character and
circumstances the Gospel has no adaptation : and, af-
ter all, the goodness of God, which is magnified in

XV

the Gospel, is magnified on account of the greatness
of those calamities from which it emancipates, as well
as on account of the greatness of those benefits
which it confers on its objects. — They may illustrate
and recommend the precepts of morality; but neither
do these constitute the Gospel: they would have
been bindins^ on the consciences and the conduct of
mankind, although no such dispensation as the Gos-
pel had ever been revealed : and, after all, the pre-
cepts of morality, as taught in the Gospel, are en-
forced by motives that refer to the miseries out of
which the Gospel brings us, and sanctioned by
penalties whose awfulness the Gospel rather aggra-
vates than diminishes. — They may expatiate on the
glory and the blessedness of the heavenly world ;
but heaven is not, any more than the other parti-
culars we have alluded to, a distinctive blessing of
the Gospel, — it is the place to which man was des-
tined if he had never fallen from his primeval inno-
cence, and the Gospel has no proper application to
a state of innocence : and, after all, heaven as exhi-
bited in the Gospel, is an object of hope to guilty
creatures who have been first redeemed from hell ;
its sainted inhabitants rejoice in having been " washed
from sins," and saved from condemnation, — and
while the Gospel promises its felicity to all who be-
lieve in the Saviour, and obey his will, it fails not at
the same time to declare, that those who are of a
contrary character shall be excluded from its happy
mansions, and doomed to woe unutterable and un-
ending.

In these, and similar iiihtances, many things

XVI

may be advanced out of the Gospel, in the way
of instruction, which do not bring directly into
view the terror of the Lord, though, as we have
seen, it is not difficult to show that even these points
cannot be fully and faithfully explained without the
help of that argument. But take the Gospel as a
scheme of redemption, which is its true and proper
character; consider it as a divine contrivance for the
accomplishment of that end ; let all its facts, and
positions, and commandments, and promises, and
threatenings, and blessings be regarded in their genu-
ine connection with the great system into which they
enter, either as constituent parts or as useful appen-
dages ; and the terror of the Lord, in one shape or
another, will present itself to your observation, and
demand your homage. It is that from which there
is a divine interposition to deliver you : — or it is that
which you are entreated to embrace the means and
the opportunity of escaping: — or it is that by which
you are to be aided in taking a just and comprehen-
sive survey of the attributes and administration of
God : — or it is that which is to subdue in your hearts
the power of sinful propensities, and to arrest in your
lives the progress of sinful habits : — or it is that
which is to shut you up to the faith of him who
bore " the chastisement of your peace, that by his
stripes you might be healed :" — or it is that which is
to awaken and cherish your feelings of gratitude for
the visitations of divine pity in the behalf of your
ruined souls : — or it is that which is to supply a sub-
ject for your song of praise, when in the land of
celestial bliss you look back on the perils out of which

XVll

you were rescued, and burst forth into halleluiahs
to Him who saved you from them: — or it is that
which, in the righteous judgment of Omnipotence,
shall fall upon every one who sins, and repents
not — who lives in rebellion against God, and dies
without faith in the Saviour — who will not be
persuaded by the frowns of offended heaven to de-
part from the iniquity of his ways, and makes a mock
of those messengers of the truth who warn him of
his danger, and tell him that he must return to
God, or that he must perish for ever.

And how can it be otherwise ? The Gospel is
founded on tlie principle of God's immaculate ho-
liness and retributive justice, and on the fact that
man, as a transgressor of God's law, has become
subject to its penalty ; and its whole scope and ten-
dency, as a scheme proceeding from his Maker, is
to bring him out of that state of guilt and wretched-
ness into which he is plunged, and, as a scheme
proposed to himself for his acquiescence and adop-
tion, to prevail upon him to cling to the offered
deliverance, and to employ the means by which it
may effectually and finally become his. And if this
be a correct description of the Gospel, how can it
be faithfully preached, how can it be fully compre-
hended, how can it be sufficiently prized, and how
can it be cordially accepted, or joyfully embraced,
or steadfastly retained, unless those to whom it is
addressed have been made to see God's utter and
irreconcilable hostility to sin — unless they are aware
of their guilt, and the condemnation inseparably at-
tached to it — unless they are made to know and to

XVIU

feel what " a fearful thing it is to fall into the hands
of the living God" — unless they not only receive at
first, but continue to entertain strong impressions
of the dreadful consequences of disobedience, im-
penitence, and unbelief — and unless, therefore, in
all our explanations and enforcements of Christian-
ity, we give a prominent place, and a loud voice, to
the terror of the Lord. To judge of the worth and
efficacy of any medicinal prescription, we must be
apprised of the nature and effects of the disease
which it is intended to cure, and that the patient
may be induced to follow the one, he must be con-
vinced that he labours under the other, and that un-
less he submits to the proposed remedy, he must lay
his account with protracted illness, or with speedy dis-
solution. A city of refuge is but an empty name,
except we associate with it the idea of some danger,
that cannot otherwise be avoided; the circumstances
and the imminence of the danger must be known,
in order to ascertain how far the refuge which is
provided is requisite or sufficient; and he who is in-
vited to flee to it, will not see much meaning in
the invitation, or any occasion for his complying
with it, unless he be satisfied that the danger ex-
ists, that it is not less alarming than it is real, and
that without immediate recourse to the place of se-
curity which is appointed for him, he must be inevi-
tably overwhelmed and lost. In like manner, it is
in vain to aim at, or to expect any thorough under-
standing of the Gospel scheme, or any heartfelt re-
cognition of its value, or any eager ambition for its
blessings, or any humble and practical submission

XIX

to its authority, so long as there is no adequate
effort made to convince men of the loathsomeness,
the misery, and mortal tendency of the disease of
sin, for which the Gospel is the instituted remedy —
so long as there is but a feeble representation, or no
representation at all, of the awful and incalculable
perils to which moral guilt exposes its victims, and
from which the Gospel is ordained to be as a city of
refuge — so long as we do not bring forward with de-
cision, and proclaim with freedom, the terror of the
Lord, which the Gospel has been compassionately
revealed at once to turn away from the sinner, and
to make an instrument of his conversion to God.

Nor is it to be forgotten, that even those terms
which are employed in speaking of Christianity, and
our use of which is never objected to, have no mean-
ing but what they derive from the " terror of the
Lord." Christianity is distinguished by Mercy:
but what is mercy? Mercy is the exercise of
goodness towards those who are in circumstances of
danger and misery. Take away these circumstances,
or keep them out of sight, and you deprive the
word " mercy" of its true import, and render it wholly
inapplicable to the case of man. But let his dan-
ger and misery be acknowledged — let them be un-
folded in all their certainty and extent — let those
consequences which must ensue, if they are not avert-
ed, be exhibited without disguise ; — and then mercy
becomes a significant and appropriate word, and we
are able not only to perceive its meaning, but in
some measure, to scan its vastness, and to rejoice in
its triumphs, as these are displayed in the Gospel. —

XX

Christianity is a plan of Salvation ; and salvation is
a word which every one repeats with pleasure and
delight. But can any one repeat it with under-
standing, and with a proper sense of what renders
it an object of complacency, or a source of joy, wlio
thinks not of the terror of the Lord ? It is im-
possible: for salvation, irrespective of those evils
in deliverance from which it mainly or altogether
consists, is but a sound to which no precise idea is
annexed. You exult in the salvation of the Gos-
pel; but is not your exultation groundless, and ab-
surd, and delusive, unless your attention has been
directed to the calamities out of which it rescues
you; and will not your exultation be rational and
lively, in proportion to the clearness and the interest
with which you have realized these calamities in
your imagination? Beyond all controversy, this
must be the case. — And then how often, and how
gladly is the term Gospel itself employed ! But
what does this term signify? It signifies good tid-
ings. And what are these tidings, and in what re-
spect are they good ? They are tidings which assure
us of God's pity, and of his sending his Son into
the world for our benefit ; and they are good tid-
ings, because they tell us that we who believe in the
name of Christ, shall be delivered from the guilt
which had shut against us the gates of heaven, and
made us " children of wrath, and heirs of hell :"
and we can only welcome them with becoming gra-
titude, and give them a reception as lasting as it is
sincere, by being deeply impressed with the tremen-
dous nature and everlasting duration of that punish-
ment, from which they intimate our deliverance.

XXI

It is therefore in conformity to the very purpose
and constitution of Christianity, that we persuade
by the terror of the Lord. Every prejudice that is
cherished, and every opposition that is made to this
mode of persuasion, amounts to an impeachment of
that wisdom by which the Christian scheme was de-
vised and arranged. And its ministers may not
only plead their right, but also plead the necessity
that is laid upon them by the very nature of the
system with which they are put in trust, to declare
freely, and frequently, and earnestly, that there is
no misery like that of having " departed from the
living God" — that, as sinners, men lie helpless un-
der the burden of his righteous displeasure — and
that, if they do not repent, his wrath will finally
" come upon them to the uttermost."

In the third place, when we use the terror of the
Lord to persuade men, we accommodate ourselves to
the principles of human nature, and act precisely as
every man does, who is desirous to save another from
what is evil or pernicious. Our conduct is rational
in the best and strictest sense of that word.

Man, in his original constitution, is made sus-
ceptible of the emotion of fear. He has an instinc-
tive aversion to pain and injury, of every kind, and
in every degree. So that when subjected to afflic-
tion, whatever it may be, he naturally tries to get it
removed; and when threatened with it, he as natu-
rally tries to turn it away from him. It is true, in-
deed, that he often pursues, with a fatal eagerness,
what is fraught with the most serious mischief; but
it is only because the mischief is concealed from his
view, or because he flatters himself that it may be

xxu

ultimately escaped. Let it be distinctly presented
to him, as attached to the course which he is fol-
lowing, and let him be convinced that it will infal-
libly result from his perseverance in that course,—
and his fear will be awakened, he will shrink from
what is certainly to involve him in suffering, and he
will stop short in the career to which he can see no
other termination. It is on this principle that hu-
man laws uniformly proceed, in the various sanc-
tions which they annex to disobedience and crime.
It is to this principle that every system of mere mo-
rality we are acquainted with, more or less appeals,
in its endeavours to guard the virtuous against the
assaults of temptation, and to reclaim the vicious
from their unworthy habits. And it is by the same
principle that our admonitions are regulated, when
as parents, or teachers, or neighbours, or friends, we
warn those, in whom we take an interest, against
any step that might prove hurtful or destructive to
their welfare. We know, that in human nature,
there is a dislike to evil in its every form. We know
that every man is afraid of it when he sees it coming
upon him. We know that there is scarcely an in-
dividual of whose conduct a large proportion is not
actuated by such feelings. And we know, that in
the attempts that are made to restrain the wickedness
of the bad, and to preserve the integrity of the good,
whether these attempts are combined with the autho-
rity of a ruler, or with the kindness of a friend, or
with the prudence of a sage, the constitutional dread
of evil, which is common to the good and to the bad,
is intentionally, perpetually, and, in a certain mea-
sure, successfully addressed.

XXlll

Now, when wc employ the terror of the Lord to
persuade men, we do nothing more than what is
universally done in cases of a similar kind ; we act
in precisely the same manner in which those very
persons act, by whom our mode of procedure is ob-
jected to, and condemned. We believe that sinners
are under the curse of God's law, which they have
broken; we believe that their condition, in this re-
spect, is full of peril and of misery; and, we believe,
that if they continue in sin, and reject the method
which infinite mercy has provided for their redemp-
tion, their ruin is inevitable, and their condemnation
aggravated. Believing all this to be true, we state
it to sinners ; we state it explicitly; we state it re-
peatedly and urgently; and thus endeavour to stir up
in them that fearful apprehension of suffering which
their Maker has implanted in their nature, and which
is every day, and every hour, operated upon, for the
purpose of producing effects similar to these at which
we aim — of persuading them to renounce that which
is pernicious to them, and to adopt the means by
which their safety may be secured. And when we
make such a statement, we do nothing that is new
and unprecedented in the treatment of rational be-
ings. We make no experiment on their minds,
which any man can allege to be unusual, as certain
persons allege it to be harsh and offensive. We
merely comply with a practice which has been ob-
served in all countries, and in all ages, and in all
communities, and in all circumstances, from the be-
ginning of the world until now. We follow the
r ule prescribed by the great Creator of our moral

XXIV

frame— the rule which is invariably conformed to by
the illiterate and the learned, the old and the young,
the wicked and the holy — the rule to whose propriety
and influence, the experience of all mankind bears its
strong and undisputed testimony.

This, indeed, would not justify us in using the
terror of the Lord, if the terror of the Lord were a
mere phantom. But we are not to be considered as
contending with those who deny the wrath of the
Almighty against sin, and the future punishment of
sinners. Their denial of these is only a branch of
their denial of Christianity at large; and we are not
at present pleading for the truth of Christianity; we
are taking for granted the truth of that system, and
are defending a particular mode of giving to it its
full effect on such as stand in need of it. And since
there is a penalty affixed to the breach of God's
commandments, we are maintaining it to be rational,
as well as useful, to set that penalty distinctly in the
view of sinners, and to alarm them with the pros-
pect of its infliction.

Neither would we be justified in what we argue
for, were there any thing in the terror of the Lord,
so different from other evils, as to render it impro-
per to address the fears of men in the former case,
while it is allowed to be proper ia the latter. But
the only difference that we can perceive, is all on our
side of the question. The terror of the Lord is on
the same footing with all other evils, in as far as
both contain what men are unwilling to endure, and
anxious to escape from and avoid. And in this sim-
ple view, an appeal to the fears of men is equally

XXV

rational as to both. If, however, such an appeal is
rational as to both, it must be at least a worthier
exercise of reason to make the appeal, where that
deliverance which is to be accomplished is more im-
portant in its nature and in its issue. And surely,
if it be rational to excite alarm in your minds, when
warning you against violating the law of man, who
can only " kill the body, and after that hath no
more that he can do," it must be rational, a fortiori,
to deter you from iniquity and impenitence, as the
subjects of that God, who has not only declared that
he hates the workers of iniquity, and that except
they repent they must perish, but who is mighty as
he is just, and " who, after he has killed the body,
can cast both soul and body into hell fire for ever."
Nor is it correct to say, that, when we speak of
the terror of the Lord, and address ourselves to the
fears of men, we act inconsistently with the peculiar
character of the gospel. We are far from being
dissatisfied with the attributes of peace, love, comfort,
compassion, being ascribed to it as its distinguishing
attributes, and as constituting its imperishable claim
to our most grateful and affectionate regards. We
glory in it as a dispensation of the richest grace; as
breathing the very spirit of good will; as abounding
in consolation; as cherishing the hope that is full of
immortality; as pointing to the regions of everlast-
ing rest. But we must not forget, that the Gospel
is revealed to creatures, who are to be prevailed upon
to accept of the blessings which it offers, by acceding
to the terms which it prescribes; and that though it
had said nothing as to the way in which that object

B

XXVI

was to be gained, we should have thought ourselves
warranted, in presenting God's highest gift to the
children of men, to employ all the means, which, by
his own appointment, were adapted to the structure
of their moral nature, and calculated, in that view, to
assist in securing their acquiescence and submission.
And we must not forget, that while it would have
been our duty, on this account, to urge the Gospel
on the reception of sinners, by touching upon their
aversion, and making all their fears alive, to the pain
and misery consequent on their rejection of it, even
though the Gospel had not directed us to do so, we
are in truth but conforming to the mode of proceed-
ing which the Gospel itself avowedly and unceasingly
employs, when calling upon men to become what
it proposes to make them — believing and penitent,
holy and happy. — And this, by the way, we consider
to be one great proof of its divine original. It has
nothing romantic or Utopian in it — either in the ob-
jects to which it points, or in the methods by which
it seeks to attain them. It is accommodated to man
—not as fancy, or speculation, or partial views would
make him — but as he is really known and seen to be
— both as to the nature with which he is endowed,
and the situation in which he is placed. It exhibits
the plan which has been contrived for his pardon and
redemption as a sinful and ruined creature. And
there is not an original principle or sensibility of his
mind which it does not take advantage of to mould
him into a Christian, to accomplish his salvation,
and to secure his eternal felicity. As he has an
inherent desire for good, it presents to him the most

XXVll

desirable good that he can enjoy. As he has an
instinctive abhorrence of suffering, it holds out to
him all that is most painful in his circumstances, and
most alarming in his prospects, as a rebel against
Almighty God. And M-hen it is pouring upon
him the promises and invitations of that divine
mercy which has provided for his recovery, and thus
applies itself to one department of his nature, it ap-
plies itself with no less emphasis to another depart-
ment of his nature, by proclaiming the warnings and
the threatenings of that divine vengeance which must
finally overtake him, if he perseveres in his apostacy.
From what the Christian revelation teaches us on
this subject, it is more than probable that God, in
the management of all his rational creatures, recog-
nizes the principal of fear, and employs the motives
that correspond with it. And, indeed, wherever
freedom of choice and conduct is possessed, and out-
ward circumstances are to have any weight in regu-
lating that freedom, we can scarcely imagine it to
be otherwise. It would appear, that the very high-
est order of beings, of w^hom we have any intimation,
are aware of the consequences of rebellion against
their Maker. These consequences have been aw-
fully presented to them, in the ruin which befel
their guilty compeers, who were banished from
heaven, and are " reserved in chains of darkness to
the judgment of the great day." And we cannot
possibly conceive that the miserable fate of these
apostate angels should not impress those holy spirits,
who have kept their first estate, with a deep and
affecting sense of the evils to which they also must
B 2

XXVlll

be subjected, if tbey break their allegiance to their
almighty King; and operate, to a certain extent, in
securing that attachment, and that obedience to him
from which all their honour and happiness are de-
rived. But, with regard to man, it is manifest that
he never was so situated as to be kept ignorant of
suffering in its connection with sinning, or insensible
to the fear of enduring, in consequence of deserving
it. While yet existing in all the incorruptness and
purity of his primeval state — as free from unholy
inclinations as from actual sin — with the image of
the immaculate God unsullied and undefaced in his
soul — even then the terror of the Lord was sounded
in his ears; and, though he was doubtless bound to
obedience by the cords of love, yet his hand was at
the same time warded off from the fruit of the for-
bidden tree, by that frightful denunciation, " In
the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely
die." And as this was done to prevent man from
falling into moral guilt, and into the destruction
which it merited, so the Gospel most rationally,
wisely, and consistently does the same thing, in the
character of a dispensation suited to man, as having
actually become guilty, and thus destroyed himself;
and does it with the gracious design of persuading
him to accept of emancipation from that misery
against which the original threatening was intended
to guard him. The terror that was spoken to him
in paradise, may be still more legitimately spoken
to him in this sinful wilderness. If it was wise to
awaken his fears of a conditional punishment, when
in heart and life he was perfectly innocent, it can-

XXIX

not but be equally wise to bring into operation tlie
same species of influence, now that he has lost his
innocence, is under the sentence of condemnation,
and has a mind so hardened and perverse, as un-
questionably to need a far more powerful and awak-
ening application to bring him back to God, than
was deemed requisite at first to preserve him in his
hitherto willing and unbroken allegiance. And he
that formed the machinery of the first covenant, also
formed the machinery of the second covenant. In
both he suited his measures to the intellectual and
moral nature which he had conferred upon mankind.
And they who employ the terror of the Lord, act in
accordance with the soundest principles of reason,
as these have been not only acknowledged in the
universal practice of man, but settled by the autho-
rity, and recognized in the administration of '* the
only wise God."

In i\\Q fourth place, we have the example of the
inspired teachers of religion to justify us in having
recourse to the terror of the Lord.

The Prophets whom God anciently commissioned
to call nations or individuals to repentance, dwelt
with much emphasis on God's abhorrence of sin,
and on the desolating judgments with which he
would visit those who obstinately persisted in it.
They never hesitated to bring forward that topic on
all such occasions; and, in bringing it forward, they
never seem to have had any doubt of its importance
and legitimacy, or any fear of giving offence, or of
doing harm, to those upon whom it was enforced.
On the contrary, they introduced it without scruple;

XXX

they often placed it in the very front of their mes-
sage; they clothed it in the strongest language;
they connected it with the most impressive illustra-
tions; and whether the wicked, whom they endea-
voured to reclaim by it, listened with forbearance or
with obduracy, they left it sounding in their ears,
and striking upon their hearts, in all its native and
appalling energy. True, they spoke of God's par-
doning mercy — of his willingness to save — of the
tenderness of that compassion which he felt for his
ungrateful and disobedient people; and these they
failed not to present to them in a manner the most
affecting and attractive. Hut in every communica-
tion which they made to men, the thunders of divine
indio-nation, and divine threatening, either preceded,
or followed, or accompanied the " still small voice" of
mercy which heaven had directed them to breathe.
And in all their official intercourse with those whom
thev were appointed to warn or to instruct, we ob-
serve the boldest, the most unqualified, and the
most deeply-coloured representations of God's wrath
ao-ainst impenitent transgressors, both in this world
and in the world to come.

The same thing is unequivocally seen in the con-
duct of the Apostles, wdiich is still more to our pur-
pose. We do not admit^ indeed, that they adminis-
tered a dispensation substantially different from that
which was administered by the prophets. It was
the same dispensation which employed the services of
the one and of the other. But by the time that it
came into the hands of the former, it had assumed
a milder shape, and had a more distinct character

XXXI

of love impressed upon it, than what it bore when
the latter were ordained to support and to promulgate
it. And yet even with them the terror of the Lord
is a subject of frequent recurrence, of indispensable
moment, of earnest and unceasing inculcation. They
were busily, and delightfully, and divinely occupied
in publishing the glad tidings of salvation — in de-
claring the purposes and the plans of God's saving
grace — in " preaching the unsearchable riches of
Christ" — in diffusing the balm of heavenly consola-
tion— in recommending the charity which " thinketh
no evil" — in unfolding the glories of a blessed im-
mortality. But, in the midst of all these soothing
and animating themes, do we ever find them forget-
ting to ply the consciences of sinners with arguments
drawn from God's punitive justice — from the ruinous
effects of disobedience — from the nature, the cer-
tainty, and the duration of that penalty which gives
its holy sanction to the law that they had broken ?
Of this subject, terrific as it is, in every view that
can be taken of it, and discordant as it appears to be
with the general tenor of their message — of this
subject they are never unmindful. They never
blink it in its sternest and most forbidding form.
They never seem to think it incompatible with their
office as ministers of the God of love, and of the
Prince of Peace, to enlarge upon it. They set it
forth without the least attempt to break down the
ruggedness of its aspect, or to veil one of those fea-
tures of severity and dreadfulness, which so many
make a pretext for excluding it from among the ob-
jects of their serious contemplation. They treat it

XXXll

with unshrinking and uncompromising fidehty — pre-
senting it to our eye, and pressing it on our observa-
tion, in all its true and terrible magnitude — clothing
it in language so plain, and in figures so striking,
that but for the authority of the Bible, our use of
them would not be tolerated either by the tasteful
or the pious — and avowing it to be a principle on
wdiich they deliberately and systematically act as
faithful ministers of God's word, that " knowing the
terror of the Lord, they persuade men."

But we can appeal to a greater than the prophets,
or tlie apostles. The terror of the Lord was pro-
claimed by Jesus Christ himself. He was predicted
as one " anointed to preach good tidings to the
meek, to bind up the broken-hearted, to comfort all
that mourn;" and this amiable and endearing charac-
ter he fully realized, in the whole of his deportment.
He spoke comfortably to his people, and compassion-
ately to his enemies; and the tender mercy which
adorned his active life, shone forth with all its sweet-
ness, and with all its powder, in the purpose and the
ctrcumstances of his agonizing death. But w^as he
all along silent as to the anger of God against the
wicked ? Did he refrain from giving his testimony
to the severity of divine justice, and to the fearful-
ness of being subjected to its pressure ? Did he
withhold warnings, and rebukes, and upbraidings,
from the presumptuous guilt, and the persevering
impenitence, and the hardened unbelief that he was
doomed to witness among the Jews ? Or, when con-
strained to lift up his voice in the accents of alarm,
did he conceal or palliate any part of the truth re-

XXXIU

specting the " perdition of ungodly men ;" or did
he adopt a style and a manner accommodated to the
polished taste of critics, the grave doubts of philoso-
phers, or the fine feelings of sentimentalists? Xo :
it would have been strange, indeed, if he who was
sent to save sinners by the sacrifice of himself, and
who, in his sacrificial offering, gave the most em-
phatic demonstration that can be conceived, of God's
abhorrence of sin, and of the terrors of the " second
death," had said nothing explicitly, and nothing
strongly on these points, to the unholy and unto-
ward generation among whom he dwelt, and taught,
and laboured. This would have been strange, in-
deed ; but this strange thing did not happen. Our
blessed Saviour, to whom we are not seldom referred
as a pattern of gracious and kindly preaching, ceased
not, from the commencement to the termination of
his ministry upon earth, to address himself to the
fears and apprehensions of the human heart. And
in dointj so, he made use of statements as ya'on^j*, of
figures as bold, and of terms as unmeasured, as any
that have ever been employed by his apostles under
the New Testament, or by his prophets under the
Old.

It is true, all these messengers were inspired;
and in many respects they might exercise a freedom
which it would be improper or imprudent in the or-
dinary teachers of religion to use. This remark,
however, will not apply to the present case. For
when we say, that they employed the terror of the
Lord to persuade men, we do not so much refer to
their mode of delivering the truth, as to the particu-
B 3

XXXIV

lar topics of which they treated. And if they felt it
dutiful and necessary to expatiate upon that " wrath
which has been revealed from heaven against all un-
riirhteousness and ungodliness of men," it cannot be
undutiful or unnecessary in us to follow the same
course, and to enforce the same doctrine. That
God whose terror we proclaim, is the same that he
was in their day. Tlie Gospel which we preach is
the same. The nature and the heart of man, with
which we have to do, are the same. All the cir-
cumstances which could ever at any former period
affect the case, " continue as they were from the
beirinniniT." And nothin(j can be adduced to show,
that we should contradict the example of Christ, and
of his prophets, and of his apostles, who invariably
tried to persuade men by the terror of the Lord ; or
that, we should not like them declare, that God
" will by no means clear the guilty" — that " the
wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations
that forget God" — " that the power of his anger,"
as well as the extent of his love, " passeth know-
ledge"— that " indignation and wrath, tribulation
and anguish, will fall upon every soul of man that
doth evil" — that hypocrites such as the Scribes and
Pharisees were, cannot '* escape the damnation of
hell" — that those who are not prepared for heaven,
who arc unprofitable, or who do iniquity, " shall be
cast into outer darkness, where there shall be weep-
ing and gnashing of teeth" — that " the wrath of
God abideth upon them" that believe not — that
" except sinners repent, they shall all perish" — that,
on the last day, the wicked shall rise to " everlasting

XXXV

shame and contempt" — that they " shall not stand
in the judgment," nor mingle " in the congregation
of the righteous" — that they shall cry to " the
mountains and rocks to fall on them, and hide them
from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and
from the wrath of the Lamb" — that they shall have
that sentence pronounced upon them, which calls
them accursed, bids them depart from the only source
of happiness, and sends them into the place of pun-
ishment, " prepared for the devil and his angels" —
that they shall be " cast into a lake which burnetii
with fire and brimstone" — and that " the smoke of
their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever."

These declarations are, indeed, of terrible import,
and may well cause the stoutest heart to tremble.
But they are declarations w^hich are dictated by, and
fraught with, mercy. And this is ihejifth consider-
ation, which we advance in favour of the mode of
persuading men by the terror of the Lord.

They are not our best friends, who always speak
to us the things that are smoothest and most agree-
able, and who most scrupulously abstain from what
is offensive to our feelings. It is no proof of true
kindness, to consult our present repose at the ex-
pense of our ultimate safety — to conceal from us
what it is most important that we should know,
merely to prevent a temporary agitation or incon-
venience— to attend to our false delicacy, or our
short-sighted prejudices, and, at the same time, to
neglect what may contribute to our highest and
most enduring interests. And it indicates no want
of affectionate regard, to say or to do what n-^y

M

<"-.

XXXV

wound our minds, in the mean time, with painful
recollections, or with distressing anticipations, when
these are requisite for securing to us an invaluable
and permanent benefit; or to deprive us of what is
dearest to our hearts, when the deprivation is to
make room for objects which have an infinitely
higher claim on our attachment, as being infinitely
more conducive to our welfare and happiness. On
the contrary, it is evident, that those who act the
former part, are, whether by intention or through
mistake, our real enemies, and that those who act
the latter part are benefactors to us, of the most ge-
nuine and enlightened description.

The application of these remarks to the subject
under discussion is obvious. It is not for the mere
purpose of alarming sinners, nor is it for the un-
generous purpose of harrowing up their feelingi», that
w^e hold out to them the terror of the Lord. We
should deem it cruel, thus to sport with their com-
fort, as we should deem it impious, thus to trifle with
a part of revealed truth. The object we have in
view is to promote their welfare — to effectuate their
salvation — to prevail upon them to *' flee from the
wrath to come," and to " turn to the strong-hold, as
prisoners of hope." Having such an interesting
and precious object in view, we have recourse to the
means which, by the divine blessing, promise to be
effectual for its attainment. And one of the most
important of these means, according to the dictates
of reason, the authority of Scripture, and the lessons
^f experience, is to be found in the faithful exposi-
titr, of those sad and ruinous consequences, in which
sin Insure to involve its unrepenting votaries.

xxxvii i

It would be very easy for us to avoid the topic
altogether, or to strip it of all which renders it most
formidable and forbidding — to whisper smooth say-
ings into the ear of the careless worldling, or the
hardened transgressor — to say " Peace, peace, to
them, when there is no peace" — to descant on the
beauties of virtue, when they are making no efforts
to escape from the penalties of ungodliness and vice
— to paint to them the joys of heaven, when we see
them hastening, with bold and headlong steps, down
to the abodes of hell — to deal most gently with their
consciences, so gently that they shall scarcely feel it,
when they are evidently wrapped up in self-righteous-
ness, or cased in indifference, or .covered with the
adamant of a profligate infidelity — to speak so lightly
of sin, and so little of the tribulation that awaits it,
as to%make them more than half-contented with their
spiritual condition, when yet that condition is full of
guilt and peril — to indulge them with such a " lovely
song" about the goodness of God, as to charm away
all their fear of his displeasure, though they have
been living in contempt of his goodness, and in defi-
ance of his displeasure, and have not repented of it
— and to nourish in them the pleasing but delusive
dream, that all is well with their soul's estate, while
it is plain that they have no vital faith in the Savi-
our, and are living " without God in the world,"
and are " vessels of wrath fitted for destruction." It
would be very easy to do all this; and no doubt it
is a sort of treatment which would meet with much
acceptance from those who have an antipathy to the
use of terror, and would procure for us the reputa-

XXXVlll

tion of meekness and mildness, as ministers of the
Gospel. But not to speak of the want of fidelity,
and of wisdom, and of consistency, which such a
mode of management would evince, we may well ask,
whether it would not decisively betray a complete
destitution of that mercy, which every minister of
the Gospel should feel for the perishing sinners that
he is called to address — whether, if the Bible be
indeed true, it is not the most deliberate and de-
structive cruelty that could be practised upon them
by their bitterest foes — whether, it would not be
better and safer for them to be away from all in-
struction whatever, than to be thus exposed to the
ignorant and mistaken lenity of teachers who lay
such a flattering unction to their souls, and who
" heal their hurt so slightly."

How differently would you act in cases of incal-
culably less moment ! If you saw a man wiilking
heedlessly to the brink of a precipice, and just ready
to tumble over it, would you allow him to move on-
ward, till you had uttered a few gentle words on
the safety and propriety of retracing his steps ? Or
would not the impulse of common humanity prompt
you to send forth such a note of alarm, even at the
risk of shocking his feelings, as might arrest him in
a moment, and save him from the dismal fate to
which he had made such a near approach ? And
when we behold sinners standing thoughtlessly and
madly on the precipice of guilt, with but one short
step between them and the abyss of endless woe, can
we fail, if we have any pity for them, instantly to
address ourselves to their instinctive horror at de-

XXXIX

struction, and, by the voice of warning, to make them
start back from the yawning gulph into which a mo-
ment's delay might liave plunged them, and seek for
their security and " established going" in " the
true and living way?" — Had you a child whose life
depended on the amputation of a limb, and if he
refused to undergo the operation, on account of the
pain and inconvenience it would cost him, would
you deem it sufficient to confine your effijrts to the
method of mild entreaty and promised reward ? Or
would not you, without hesitation, command liis ready
assent, and fix his wavering resolution, by telling him
plainly of his danger, and assuring him that he must
either submit or die ? And when we see a fellow-
creature persisting in a sinful habit, which threatens
to prove the ruin of his immortal spirit, are not we
called upon, by our sentiments of compassion, to
point out to him the fatal effects of persevering in
his delinquency, and to say to him, in the language
of our Saviour, who seems to have had a similar il-
lustration in his eye when he said, " If thy hand
offend thee, cut it off; it is better for thee to en-
ter into life maimed, than having two hands, to
go into hell, into the fire that never shall be
quenched; where their worm dieth not, and the fire
is not quenched." — Suppose that in passing the
house of your friend at the dead hour of midnight,
you were to see the flames bursting from it with a
fury which threatened immediate destruction to all
its unconscious inhabitants — how would you proceed?
Would you knock as if you were unwilling to dis-
turb their rest? Would you think of practising

xl

such nice and delicate management, while the fire
was extending its ravages through the whole dwell-
ing, and its inmates were still unaware of the im-
pending ruin ? Or rather, would not your first and
whole endeavour he to rouse them from their sleep ?
And, for this purpose, would not you he regardless
of any momentary agitation they might suffer? And
would not you knock again and again, and louder
and louder still, till their slumbers were broken, and
their eyes awake to the peril that surrounded them?
And when we see men buried in the sleep of spi-
ritual death, dwelUng at ease in " the tents of wick-
edness," and the fire of divine vengeance already
kindling, as it were, on their devoted habitations,
will mercy to their souls permit us to lose a moment
in trying to rescue them from the perdition that is
fast gathering around them ? Will it not constrain
us to thunder in their ear the terror of the Lord,
that they may be roused from their lethargy, and
made to tremble for the visitation of divine wrath
that is coming upon them? Will not we be con-
strained by its power to forget all minor con-
siderations, and to send, if possible, into their very
hearts such a knell of warning, as that they may
arise, and fiee for their life, and take refuge with
Him who alone can save them from " dwelling with
the devouring flames, and lying down in the ever-
lasting burnings" of Jehovah's fury ? This is true
mercy; and it is the mercy that we exercise when,
in such circumstances, we employ the terror of the
Lord to persuade men. We remind them of the
" fiery indignation that is to consume" them, if they

xli

continue to be ** adversaries" of God. We point
to the miserable conclusion of that course of iniquity
or licentiousness which they are running. We thus,
by appealing to one of the most powerful and influ-
ential principles of their nature, endeavour to stop
them in their guilty career. We sing to them of
mercy and of judgment : and we say to them, in the
sj)irit of the one and in the prospect of the other,
" Turn ye, turn ye; for why will ye die?"

The argument, then, appears to be quite conclu-
sive in favour of our usinfr the terror of the Lord to
persuade men. But we shall be told, notwithstand-
ing, that the terror of the Lord vvill never make a
Christian: and neither it will. We know of no
single consideration whatever, be it as important and
as powerful as it may, which, by itself, will make
a Christian, and we are very far from ascribing to
the operation of fear alone, or to any representations,
however awful and impressive, of the eftects of sin,
such a mighty and complete result as a saving con-
version to God. We do not think that a man will '
apply to a physician, or follow his prescription, who
has no belief in the reality, no feeling of the malig-
nity, and no apprehension for the consequences, of
his disease. And just as little do we think that such
a belief, and such a feeling, and such an apprehen-
sion, will produce one cordial movement towards the
physician, or any submission to his advice, unless
there is a previous conviction that he possesses skill
sufficient to effectuate a cure, that he is willing to
exert it for that end, and that a proper appHcation

xlii

will be attended with the desired success. All that
we maintain in the present case is, that of different
means to be employed in prevailing upon a sinner to
embrace the Gospel, neither the least important,
nor the least efficacious is that which consists in
affecting; him with the dread of divine wrath and of
future punishment. AVe do not even say that he
must first of all be alarmed at the perils in which he
is involved, before any change can be produced.
We do not thus limit the operations of God's Spirit
to any specific plan. His modes of procedure are
various; and sometimes it is one circumstance, and
sometimes another, which he makes eflPectual for
bringing a transgressor to think seriously of his spi-
ritual condition, and to turn to the Lord. But we
maintain that, in the natural order of things, the sin-
ner must be roused to a sense of his danger, before he
can be persuaded to close with an overture of salva-
tion. And with whatever view the process ori-
ginates, at some period or other it necessarily im-
plies that he sees himself as a sinner, condemned of
God, and liable to the pains of hell; and without
this it never can be said to be completed, or put be-
yond the suspicion of being a mere delusion of the
fancy, or of the feelings. It may have been an af-
fecting display of the love of God, or of the com-
passion of Christ, which originally moved his heart,
and led him to " mind the things which belong to
his peace;" but let the influence of these motives be
analysed, and the subsequent stages of his progress
examined, and it will be found that the love of God,
and the compassion of Christ, gathered a great and

xliii

essential portion of their constraining power, from the
miseries of that state out of which they are exerted
to redeem him ; and that every step of his practical
acquiescence in the plan of redemption, was quick-
ened by the consideration of the awful consequences
of unforgiven sin, as exhibited in the word of God,
which of course he took for his directory, and in
the death of Jesus, to which, of course he looked
for his deliverance. It was not the terror which
came upon the jailor of Philippi, that made him a
believer; but it was terror which led him to cry out,
" Sirs, what must I do to be saved;" and if he had
not been alarmed by the extraordinary events which
had just happened, and had not been forced by his
alarm to put the question, there is no reason to
suppose that he would ever have been rescued from
the state of supineness and unbelief in which the apos-
tles found him. Neither was it the mere evils of
his condition, which made the Prodigal in the para-
ble a real penitent: but if no sense of present
wretchedness, and no fear of coming sorrows, had
pressed upon his mind, we have no ground for think-
ing that he would ever have " come to himself," or
remembered, with a mixture of regret and desire,
the comforts and the security of the home which he
had foolishly abandoned. If he was encouraged to
return, by what he knew of the kindness and com-
passion of that father to whom he had been so un-
grateful, we can have no doubt that his homeward
steps were accelerated by the vivid recollection of
what he endured when famine withered his strength,
and of what he dreaded when death was staring him

xliv

in the face. And at tlie delightful moment when he
felt himself safe and happy under the roof of pater-
nal affection, we belie the dictates of nature, and
the very language of the narrative, if we do not be-
lieve that former suffering and former terror, increased
the raptures that now filled his bosom, and that his
heart responded to all that was implied in the ex-
clamation of his exulting parent, " Tiiis, my son
was lost, and he is found; he was dead, and is alive
again."

It is not to be denied, that some stout-hearted
sinners, who have withstood all the denunciations of
divine anger, and have sat Sabbath after Sabbath,
and year after year, unmoved under the ministry of
terror, have at length yielded to a more gentle ap-
plication, and bowed their stubborn necks to the
yoke of him who is meek and lowly. But as little
is it to be denied, that others to whom the message
of peace and reconciliation has been long addressed
in vain — who have hardened themselves against
abounding grace — and who seemed to become more
indifferent the more that they were urged and be-
sought by the mercies of God, have at last been
roused from their death-like repose by the terror of
the Lord, and impelled to ask after the way of es-
cape; and constrained to accept of those offers of
pardon, which had formerly been heard with listless-
ness, or rejected with disdain. Tliese cases show
that different individuals require different treatment,
in order to their being effectually stimulated to a
serious concern about their salvation; and, there-
fore, that both modes of persuasion should be em-

xlv

ployed. Both modes have been actually employed;
and it is impossible to ascertain how far the agency
of terror has been a preparation for the agency of
mercy in the one instance, or how far the agency of
mercy has been a preparation for the agency of ter-
ror in the other. We cannot entertain a doubt,
that it was their combined operation which finally,
by the blessing of the Spirit, led the sinner to take
refuge in the sanctuary of the Gospel — to cast him-
self into the arras of redeeming power — and to
cleave to the appointed Saviour, as his all for time,
and his all for eternity. And we are convinced that
those teachers of religion act the wisest, the most
faithful, and the most compassionate part, who neg-
lect neither of these two engines of persuasion, in
their addresses to the consciences and hearts of sin-
tiers; but who say at one time, " hear, and your
souls shall live," and at another time, " every soul
which shall not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed
from among the people" — who not only give the
exhortation of the apostle, " Repent and be con-
verted, that your sins may be blotted out," but also
the warning of our Lord, " Except ye repent, ye
shall all perish" — who, while they affirm that " he
that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved," have
the courage to add, " he that believeth not shall be
damned" — who having intimated, that when " the
Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven," he will
" come to be glorified in his saints, and admired of
all them that believe," do not omit to declare, that
he vvill come " in flaming fire taking vengeance on
them that know not God, and obey not the Gospel."

xlvi

But it may be said, that though there can be no
objection to the terror of the Lord being proclaimed
to the unbelieving and the profligate — though there
may be an obvious necessity for sounding an "alarm
to the unconverted" — there can be no propriety in
urging such a topic on the attention of real and
experienced Christians. And certainly these do not
need to have it urged on them for the same purpose
which it is intended to serve with those who are still
" in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of ini-
quity." But they should be at least forbearing,
when they consider the pitiable case of their thought-
less and perishing fellow-mortals. They should
not murmur that appropriate means of recovery are
applied to souls, which are just as precious as theirs.
They should be contented to hear occasionally what
the Lord may bless to others, as he has already
blessed it to them, for bringing them "from darkness
to light, and from Satan unto God." And a little
consideration may convince them, that it may re-
dound even to their own advantage to be sometimes
called to meditate on the terror of the Lord. It
will show them, in a clearer light, the value of that
Gospel which has revealed to them the method of
deliverance from guilt and misery. It will give them
a more just and consistent view of the attributes of
that God, whom they are required to fear as well as
to love. It will fill them with a higher esteem for
the character, and with a stronger faith in the merit,
of that Saviour by whom their deliverance was ef-
fected, at such an expense of suffering and of blood.
It will serve to keep them humble, by reminding

xlvii

them of the pit out of wliich they have been digged,
and the rock out of which they have been hewn — of
the punishment which they deserved, and of the
grace to which alone they were indebted for pardon.
It will fasten such a revolting association upon sin,
as to render it more and more an object of their
hatred and of their avoidance. It will give more
warmth, and more activity, to that compassion which
they ought to feel for their brethren, who are yet
the slaves of the world, of sin, and death, and whose
case they might be apt to forget, or to remember but
coldly, in the midst of their own privileges and their
own safety. And it will raise to a more joyful and
exalted strain that hymn of gratitude which they sing
to the Redeemer of their souls, in this the house of
their pilgrimage, and which shall be sung in a yet
loftier mode, and with a yet holier rapture, by all
the glorified saints in heaven, through everlasting
ages.

Thus have we endeavoured to prepare the way
for the unprejudiced perusal of Mr. Alleine's power-
ful and impressive work, " An Alarm to Uncon-
verted Sinners," by vindicating that mode of per-
suading men, to which those have recourse who bring
forward " the terror of the Lord." In this attempt,
we trust that we have in a great measure succeeded.
But it is fair to state, that Mr. Alleine's Treatise is
not wholly occupied with his appeal to the fears of
transgressors. A great part of it is taken up with
the discussions of collateral topics — such as the na-
ture of conversion, marks of conversion, directions
for conversion, in which all are deeply interested ;

xlviii

and by our Author's treatment of which all may be
edified. - The volume also contains a solution of
several practical and important cases of conscience;
the satisfactory solution of which is well fitted to
give light and direction in the difficulties and duties
of the Christian life. We do not pretend to vouch
for every one of his sentiments. There is occa-
sionally something overcharged in his statements.
And, as we did not approve of all his modes of ex-
pression, we have endeavoured to expunge what-
ever was vulgar and offensive in his language, and
render it more acceptable to the cultivated taste,
without impairing, in any degree, the force of his
expressions, or diluting the strength, and energy,
and faithfulness of his addresses to sinners. Alto-
gether, it is the production of a mind deeply impressed
with the importance of its subject, unusually conver-
sant in the doctrine and phraseology of Scripture,
more studious to affect the heart than to please the
taste of the reader, vigorous in its conceptions of
evangelical truth, and in its powers of moral suasion,
and well calculated, under God, to " turn the dis-
obedient to the wisdom of the just." Richard Bax-
ter gives it a great testimony, when he calls it " a
masculine birth," and says that he " takes it for an
honour to commend it to the world." It has been
much read — it has proved singularly useful — and
we hope that it will continue to be an instrument of
much substantial good to the church and to the
world.

A. T.
Edinburgh, May, 1823.

CONTENTS.

Page

Epistle to tlie Unconverted Reader, by Richard Baxter, 51

by Richard Alleine, 75

AN ALARM TO UNCONVERTED SINNERS.

Introduction. An earnest invitation to sinners to turn to

God, in order to their eternal salvation, . . .83

CHAP. I. Showing, in the negative, what Conversion

is not, and correcting some mistakes about it, . . 89
CHAP. II. Showing positively what Conversion is, 101

CHAP. HI, Of the Necessity of Conversion, . . 134-
CHAP. IV. Showing the Marks of the Unconverted, 159

CHAP. V. Showing the Miseries of the Unconverted, 175

CHAP. VI. Directions for Conversion, . . . 202
CHAP. VII. Containing the Motives to Conversion, 244

CHAP. VIII. Conclusion, 260

Counsel for Personal and Family Godliness, . . 270

Awakening Questions propounded to the Unconverted, . 277

Counsels for the Converted, 281

Sacrament Cordials for the Converted, .... 290

CASES OF CONSCIENCE.

CASE I. "Wlierein should Christians be singular in their
obedience? or what may and must they do more than
others? 307

CASE II. What may and must a Christian be and do, that

he may please God? 322

C

1 CONTENTS.

Page
CASE III. Is any man able, in this life, to come up to the
example of Christ in this, to do always those things that

please God? 336

CASE IV. What weariness in, and unwillingness to, duties
may stand with grace, and what not? .... 368

THEOLOGlGiL
AN EPISTLE

TO THE

UNCONVERTED READER.

To all the ignwant, carnal, and ungodly, "joho are
lovers of pleasure more than God, and seek this
world more than the life everlasting, and live af-
ter the flesh and not after the Spirit, these calls
and cou7isels are directed, i?i hope of their con-
version to God, and of their salvation,

" He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear."

Miserable Soul!

There is that life, and light, and love, in every
" true believer," but especially in every faithful
Minister of Christ, which engageth them to long
and labour for your salvation. Life is communica-
tive and active; it maketh us sensible that faith is
not a fantasy, nor true religion a stage play, nor our
hopes of eternal happiness a dream. And, as we
desire nothing more for ourselves than to have more
of the holy life, which we have, alas ! in so small a
measure, so what is it we should more desire for
others? With the eye of an infallible, though too
C 2

52

weak, faith, we see the heaven whicli you neglect,
and the blessed souls in glory with Christ, whose
companions you might be for ever. We see the
multitudes of souls in hell, who came thither in the
same way that you are going, who are shut out of
the glorious presence of God, and who arc now
among those devils that deceived them, remembering
that they had their " good things" here, and how
they spent the day of their visitation, and how light
they once set by God, by Christ, by heaven, by
mercy, whilst mercy was an earnest solicitor for their
hearts: and, with our bodily eyes, we see at the same
time abundance of poor sinners living about us, as if
there were no God, no Christ, no heaven, no hell,
no judgment, no, nor any death to be expected; as
if a man were but a master-beast to rule the rest,
and feed upon and perish with them. And, if it
were your own case, to see what souls do in heaven
and hell, and at once to see how unbelievingly,
carelessly, and senselessly most men live on earth, as
if there were no such difference in another world,
would it not seem a pitiful sight to you? If you
had once seen the five brethren of Dives on earth,
eating, drinking, laughing and merry, clothed, and
faring daily with the best, and at the same time
seen their brother's soul in hell, begging in vain for
a little ease, and wishing that one from the dead
might go warn them, that they come not to that
place of torment, would it not seem to you a pitiful
sight ? Would not pity have made you think,
" Is there no way to open these gentlemen's eyes ?
— no way to acquaint them what is become of their

53

brother, and where Lazarus is, and whither they
themselves are going ? No one driveth or forccth
them into hell, and will they go thither of them-
selves? And is there no way to stop them or keep
them back ?" Did you yourselves but see what we
(believing God) see by faith, and at once behold the
saints in heaven, the lost despairing souls in hell,
and the senseless sensual sinners on earth, that yet
will lay none of this to heart, surely it would make
you wonder at the stupidity of mankind. Would
you not say, O what a deceiver is the devil, that
can thus lead on souls to their own destruction ! O
vvhat a cheat is this transitory world, that can make
men " so forget the world" where they must live for
ever! O what an enemy is the flesh, that thus
draweth down men's souls from God ! What a
bedlam is this wicked world, where thousands are so
busy, labouring to undo themselves and others, and
gratifying the devil, against their God and Saviour,
who would (five them everlastino^ blessed life !

And, as we have such a sight as this, by faith, to
make us pity, so we have so much taste of the good-
ness of God, the sweetness of his ways, and the hap-
piness of believers, as must needs make us wish that
you had but once tried the same delights ; it would
turn the pleasure of sin into detestation. God knows,
we desire nothing more for ourselves than the perfec-
tion and eternity of this holiness and happiness which
we believe and taste. And should we not desire the
same for you ?

And, being thus moved with necessary pity, we

54

ask of God what he would have us to do for your
salvation. And he hath told us in Scripture, That
the preaching of his gospel to acquaint you plainly
with the truth, and earnestly and frequently entreat
you to turn from the flesh and the world to God, by
Jesus Christ, is the means with which his grace is
ready to concur for your salvation, when obstinate
resistance causeth the Holy Spirit to forsake the
sinner, and leave him to himself to pursue his own
counsels, lusts, and will.

In this hope we undertook the sacred ministry,
and gave up ourselves to this great and most impor-
tant work. In the great sense of our own unworthi-
ness, but yet in a sense of our soul's necessity, we
were not such fools, at our first setting out, as not
to know it must be a life of labour, self-denial, and
patience, and that the devil would do his worst to
hinder us, that all his instruments would be ready
to serve him against our labours, and against your
souls, Christ, our Captain, saved by patient conquest,
and so must we save ourselves and you ; and so must
you save yourselves under Christ, if ever you be
saved. It was no strange thing to Paul, that bonds
and afflictions did every where attend hira ; nor did
he " account his life dear, that he might finish his
course with joy, and the ministry committed to him
by the Lord." It was no strange thing to him to
be forbidden to preach to the " Gentiles, that they
might be saved," by such as were " filling up the
measure of their sins," and were under God's " ut-
most wrath" on earth. Devils and Pharisees, and

55

most of those among whom they came, both high
and low, were against the Apostles preaching the
gospel, and yet they would not sacrilegiously and
cruelly break their covenant with Christ, and perfi-
diously desert the souls of men; even as their Lord,
for the love of souls, did call Peter Satan, that would
have tempted him to save his life, instead of making
it a sacrifice for our sins.

What, think you, should make us undertake a
calling so contrary to our carnal ease and interest ?
Do we not know the way of ease and honour, wealth
and pleasure, as well as others ? And have we not
flesh as well as others ? Could we not be content
that the cup of reproach, scorn, slander, poverty,
and labour, might pass from us, if it were not for the
will of God your salvation ? Why should we love
to be the lowest, and trodden down by maHgnant
pride, and counted as the ofF-scouring of all things,
and represented to rulers, whom we honour, as schis-
matics, disobedient, turbulent, unruly, by every
church-usurper of whom we refuse to make a god ?
Why give we not over this preaching of the gospel
at the will of Satan, who is for the everlasting
" suffering of your souls," under pretence of making
us suffer? Is not all this that you may be convert-
ed and saved? If we be herein beside ourselves, it
is for you. Could the words of the ignorant or
proud have persuaded us, that either your wants or
dangers are so inconsiderable, (or your other sup-
plies and helps sufficient,) that our labours had been
unnecessary to you, God knoweth, we should readily
have obeyed the " silencing sort of pastors," and

56

have betaken us to some other land, whcie our ser-
vice had been more necessary. Let shame be the
hypocrite's reward, wlio takes not the saving of
souls and the pleasing of God for a sufficient reward,
without ecclesiastical dignities, preferments, or world-
ly wealth.

I have told you our motives, I have told you our
business, and the terms of our undertaking. It is
God and you sinners that next must tell us, what
our entertainment and success shall be. Shall it
still be neglect and unthankful contempt, and turn-
ing away your ears and hearts, and saying, " We
have somewhat else to mind?" Will you still be
cheated by this deceitful world, and spend all your
days in providing for the flesh, that must shortly be.
rotting in a grave? W^ere you made for no better
use than this? May we not bring you to some so-
ber thoughts of your condition, and seriously to think
one hour whither you are going? What! not one
awakened look into the world where you must be for
ever; not one heart-piercing thought of everlasting
glory; not one heart -piercing thought of your Savi-
our's love; not one tear for all your sinful lives ! O,
God forbid ! Let not our labours be so despised.
Let not your God, your Saviour, and your souls, be
so light set by: O let there be no more profane per-
sons among you, like Esau, who " for one morsel
sold his birth-right!"

Poor sinners ! we talk not to you as on a stage,
in customary words, and as if talking were our busi-
ness; we are in as good earnest with you as if we
saw you murdering yourselves, and were persuading

57

you to save yourselves. Can any man be in jest
with you, who beheveth God, who by faith foreseeth
whither you arc going, and what you lose, and where
the game of sin will end? It is little better to jest
with you now in a pulpit, or in private, than to
stand jesting over your departing souls, when at
death you are breathing out your last.

Alas ! with shame and grief we confess, we never
speak to you of these things as their truth and weight
deserve, nor with the skill and wisdom, the affection
and fervency, that beseem men engaged in the sav-
ing of souls; but yet you may perceive that we are
in earnest with you, for God is so. What else do
we study for, labour for, suffer for, live for? Why
else do we so much trouble ourselves, and trouble
you, and anger them that would have made us si-
lent? For my own part, I mil make my free con-
fession to you, to my shame, that I never grow cold,
and dull, and pitiless, to the souls of others, till I
first grow too cold and careless of my own (unless
when weakness or speculative studies cool rae, which
I must confess they often do). We never cease
pitying you, till we are growing too like you, and
oft have need of pity ourselves.

When, through the mercy of my Lord, the pros-
pect of the world of souls, to which I am going, hath
any powerful operation on myself, O ! then I could
spend and be spent for others. No words are too
earnest, no labour too great, no cost too dear; the
frowns and wrath of malignant opposers of the preach-
ino" of Christ's gospel are nothing to me. But, when
the world of spirits disappears, or my soul is clouded,
C3

58

and receiveth not the vital-illuminating influences of
heaven, " I grow cold, first to myself, and then to
others."

Come, then, poor sinners, and help us, who are
willing at any time to help you. As we first crave
God's help, so we next crave yours. Help us ; for
we cannot serve you against your wills, nor save you
without your consent and help. God himself will
not save you without you, and how shall we? We
know that the devil is against us, and will do his
utmost to hinder us, and so will all his ministers, by
what names or titles soever dif^nified or distinofuished.
But all this is nothing, if you will but take our parts;
I mean, if you will take Christ's part and your own,
and will not be against yourselves. Men and devils
cannot either help or hinder us in savhig you, as you
may do yourselves: " If God and you be for us,
who shall be against us ?"

And " will you help us?" Give over striving
against God and conscience; give over fighting
against Christ and his Spirit; take part no more
with the world and the flesh, which in your baptism
you renounced; set your hearts on the message,
which we bring; allow it your manlike, sober thought;
search the Scriptures, and see whether the things vve
speak of be so or not. We offer you nothing but
what we have resolvedly chosen ourselves, and that
after the most serious deliberation we can make. We
have many times looked round about us, to know
what is the happiness of man; and had we found
better for ourselves, we had offered better to you.
If the world would have served our turns, it would
have served yours also, and we would not have

59

troubled you with the talk of " another world;" but
it will not, I am sure it will not, serve your turns
and make you happy, nor shall you long make that
self-deceiving shift with it as now ye do.

But, if ye will not think of these things, if ye
will not use the reason of men, alas ! what can we
do to save your souls? O pity them, Lord, that
they may pity themselves; have mercy on them, that
they may have some mercy on themselves; help them,
that they may help themselves and us. If you still
refuse, will not your loss be more than ours? If
we lose our labour, (which to ourselves we shall
not,) if we lose our hopes of your salvation, what
is this to your everlasting loss of salvation itself?
And what are our sufferings for your sake, in com-
parison of your endless sufferings?

But, O ! it is this that breaketh our hearts, that
we leave you under more guilt than we found you;
and, when we have spent our life and labour to save
you, the impenitent souls must have their punish-
ment increased for refusing these calls; and that it
will be part of your hell to think for ever how madly
you refused our counsel, and what pains, cost, and
patience, were used to have saved you, and all in
vain. It will be so, it must needs be so. Christ
saith, " It shall be easier for Sodom and Gomorrah,
in the day of judgment," than for the rejecters of
his gospel-calls. The nature of the thing, and the
nature of justice, certainly inform you it must be so.

O turn not our complaints to God against you !
turn us not from beseeching you to be reconciled to
God, to tell him you will not be reconciled; force

GO

US not to say, "that we earnestly invited you to the
heavenly feast, and you would not come !" force us
not to bear this witness against you: " Lord, we
could have borne all our labour and sufferings for
them much easier, if they would but have yielded to
thy grace. But it was they themselves that broke
our hearts, that lost our labour, that made us preach
and entreat in vain: it was easier to preach without
maintenance than without success. It was they that
were worse to us than all the persecutors in the world.
How oft would we have gathered them, but they
would not, and are ungathered still !" Hovv' many
holy, faithful ministers have I known, these eleven
years past, who have lived in pining poverty and
want, and hardly by charity got bread and clothing;
and yet, if they could but have truly said, " Lord,
the sermons which I preach privately, and in danger,
have won many souls to thee," it would have made
their burden easy. But I tell thee, senseless and
impenitent sinner, thou deniest God in thy heart;
and thou, that deniest them thy conversion, which
was the end of all their labours, hast dealt much more
cruelly with them than they that denied the Levites
bread.

Poor sinners ! I know that I am speaking all this
to those that are " dead in sin;" but it is a " death
consisting" with a " natural life," which hath a "capa-
city of spiritual life," or else I would no more speak
to you than to a stone. . And I Jvnow that you are
blind to sin;" but it is a blindness consisting with a
reasonable faculty, which is capable of spiritual illu-
mination, or else I would no more persuade you than

61

I tlo a beast. And I know that you are in the fet-
ters of "your own lusts:" your wills, your love,
your hearts, are turned away from God, and strongly
bewitched with the dreams and dalliances of the flesh
and world; but your wills are not forced into this cap-
tivity : surely those wills may be changed, by God's
grace, when you clearly see sufficient reasou to change
them; else I would as soon preach, were I capable,
to " devils and damned souls.'* Your case is not
yet desperate; O make it not desperate! There is
just the same hope of your salvation as there is of
your conversion and perseverance, and no more.
Without it there is no hope; and with it you are
safe, and have no cause to doubt and fear. Heaven
may yet be yours if you will. Nothing but your
own wills, refusing Christ and a holy life, can keep
you out: and shalt thou doit? shall hell be your
own choice? and will you say you will not be
saved?

O think better what you do ! God's terms arc
reasonable; his words and ways are good and equal ;
Christ's " yoke is easy, and his burden light," and
his commands are not grievous to any, but so far as
blindness and a bad heart make them so. You have
no true reason to be unwilling: God and conscience
shall one day tell you, and all the world, that you
have no reason for it. You may as wisely pretend
reason to torment yourselves, as plead reason ao-ainst
a true conversion unto God. Were I persuadinn-
you not to kill yourselves, I would make no question
but you would be persuaded; and yet must I be
hopeless when I persuade you from everlastino- mi-

6^2

scry, and not to prefer the world and flesh " before
your Saviour and your God," and before a sure ever-
lasting joy: God forbid!

Reader, I take it for a great mercy of God, that,
before my head lies down in the dust, and I go to
give up my account unto my Judge, I have this op-
portunity once more earnestly to bespeak thee for
thy own salvation. I beg it of thee, as one that
must shortly be called away and speak to thee no
more till we come into our endless state, that thou
wouldst but sometimes retire into thyself, and use
the reason of a man, and look before thee whither
thou art going, and look behind thee how thou hast
lived, and what thou hast been doing in the world
till now; and look within thee, what a case thy soul
is in, and whether it be fit to enter upon eternity;
and look above thee, what a heaven of glory thou
dost neglect, and that thou hast God to be thine
everlasting friend or enemy, as thou choosest and as
thou livest, and that thou art always in his sight :
Yea, and look below thee, and think where they are
that die unconverted. And, when thou hast soberly
thought of these things, then do as God and true
reason shall direct thee. And is this an unreason-
able request? I appeal to God, and to all wise men,
and to thy own conscience, when it shall be awakened,
if I speak against thee, or if all this be not for thy
good; but, if it be not true and sure, then regard
not what I say; if I speak not that message which
God hath commanded his ministers to speak, then
let it be refused as contemptuously as thou wilt. But,
if I do but, in Christ's name and stead, " beseech

63

thee to be reconciled to God," refuse it at thy peril.
And, if God's beseeching thee shall not prevail
against thy sloth, against the desires of the flesh,
asrainst the dust and shadows of the world, remem-
ber it, when, with fruitless cries and horror, thou art
beseeching him too late.

I know, poor sinner, that lust and appetite have no
reason; but I know thou hast reason thyself, which
was given thee to overrule them; and that he that
will not be a man, cannot be a saint nor happy man.
I know thou livest in a tempting and wicked world,
where things and persons wall be daily hindering
thee : but I know that this is no more to a man that
by faith sees heaven and hell before him, than a grain
of sand to a kingdom, or a blast of wind to one that
is fighting or flying for his life. O that thou didst
but know the difference between that which the devil
and sin will give thee, if thou wilt sell thy soul and
heaven, and that which God hath promised and sworn
to give thee, if thou wilt heartily give up thyself to
him ! I know thou mayest possibly fall into company,
at least among some sots and drunkards, that will
tell thee, " All this is but troublesome preciseness,
and making more ado than needs;" but I know wdthal
what that man deserveth, who will believe a fool be-
fore his Maker ! for he can be no better than a mi-
serable fool that will contradict and revile the word
of God, even the word of grace that would save
men's souls.

And, alas ! it is possible thou mayest hear some
of the tribe of Levi, or rather of Cain, deriding this
serious godliness as mere hypocrisy, and fanaticism,

64

and self-conceit; as if you must be no better than
the devil's slaves, lest you be proud in thinking, that
you are better than they; that is, you must go with
them to hell, lest in heaven ye be proud hypocrites,
for thinking yourselves happier than they.

It may be, they will tell you, that this talk of
conversion is fitter for pagans and infidels to hear
than for Christians and Protestants. But I will
entreat thee, as before God, to answer these follow-
ing questions, or to get them answered, and then
judge whether it be they or we that would deceive
thee; and whether as men use to talk against learn-
ing that have none themselves, such men prate against
conversion and the " Spirit of God," because they
have no such thing themselves.

Q. 1. I pray ask them whether it be a puritan or
fanatic opinion that men must die; and what all the
pomp, wealth, and pleasure of the world will signify
to a departing soul? Ask them, whether they will
live on earth for ever, and their merry hours and
lordly looks will have no end; and whether it be
but the conceit of " hypocrites and schismatics," that
their carcass must be rotting in a " darksome grave?"

Q. 2. Ask them, whether they have not an im-
mortal soul? and a longer life to live when this is
ended?

Q. 3. Ask them, whether reason requires not
every man to think more seriously of the place or
state where he must be for ever, than of that where
he must be for a little while, and whence he is post-
ing day and night: and whether it be not wiser to
lay up our treasure where we must stay, than where

65

wc must not stay, but daily look to be called away,
and never more to be seen on earth?

Q. 4. Ask them, whether God should not be
" loved with all your heart, and soul, and might;"
and whether it be not the mark of an ungodly mis-
creant to be " a lover of pleasure more than God,"
and a lover of this world above him, and whether
we must not seek " first God's kingdom and his
righteousness," and " labour most for the meat that
never perisheth," and " strive to enter in at the
strait gate," and " give all diligence to make our
calling and election sure?"

Q. 5. Ask them, whether, without holiness, any
shall see God, and whether the carnal mind is not
enmity to God, and " to be spiritually minded is
life and peace;" and whether, " if you live after the
flesh," you shall not die and be condemned, and
they shall not live and be saved " that walk after the
Spirit;" and whether any man be Christ's that hath
not his Spirit ?

Q. 6. Ask them, whether any man hath " trea-
sure in heaven" whose heart is not there; and whe-
ther this be not the difference between the wicked
and the godly — that the first make " their bellies
their god, and mind earthly things?" and are " ene-
mies to the cross of Christ" (though perhaps not to
his name); and the latter have "their conversation
in heaven," and, " being risen with Christ, do set
their affections on thinf^s above, and not on things
that are on the earth," to which they are as dead,
" and their life is hid" (or out of sight) " with
Christ in God, till Christ shall appear, and then

66

they shall appear (even openly to all the world) with
him in glory?"

Q. 7. Ask them whether it be credible or suitable
to God's word or working, that he, that will not
give the fruits of the earth without their labour, nor
feed and clothe them without themselves, will yet
bring them to heaven without any care, desire, or
labour of their own, when he hath bid them not
care for the one, and called for the greatest diligence
in the other? Yea, ask them, whether these be not
the two first articles of all faith and religion, 1.
" That God is?" 2. That "he is the rewarder of
them that diligently seek him?"

Q. 8. Ask them, yea, ask your eyes, your ears,
your daily experience in the world, whether all or
most that call themselves Christians, do in good ear-
nest thus live to God in the Spirit, and "mortify
the flesh with its affections and lusts, and seek first
God's kingdom and righteousness," love him above
all, and lay up their treasure and heart in heaven ;
or rather, whether most be not lovers of the world,
and "lovers of pleasure more than God," and live
not to the flesh, and mind not most the things of the
flesh? I mention not now the drunkards, the men,
that live in pride, fulness, and idleness, and sport
and trifle away their precious time ; nor the filthy
fornicator, nor the merciless oppressor, nor the ma-
lignant hater of a godly life, nor the perjured be-
trayers of men's souls, and the gospel, or of their
country's good, nor such other men of seared con-
sciences, whose misery none, but such as are blind
and miserable, questions; it is not those only I am

67

speaking of, but the common, worldly, fleshly, and
ungodly ones.

Q. 9. Ask them, whether the name of a Chris-
tian will save any of these ungodly ones: and whe-
ther God will like men the better for lying, and
calling themselves Christians, when indeed they are
not? And, whether they dare preach to the peo-
ple, that a Christian drunkard, or Christian fornica-
tor, or Christian oppressor, or Christian worldling,
needeth no conversion?

Q. 10. Ask them, whether they say not them-
selves that hypocrisy is a great aggravation to all
other sins? And, whether God hath not made the
hypocrites and unbelievers to be standards in hell?
And, whether seeking to amuse God by a mock reli-
gion, doth make such false Christians better than
the poor heathens and infidels, or much worse?
And, whether he be not a hypocrite, that professeth
to be a Christian and a servant of God, when he is
not, nor will be? And, whether he that " knoweth
his master's will, and doeth it not," shall not have
the sorest stripes or punishment ?

Q. 11. Ask them, whether in their baptism,
they did not renounce the flesh, the world, and the
devil, and vow and deliver up themselves to God
their Father, their Saviour, and their Sanctifier?
And, whether all or most men perform this vow?
And, whether a perjured " covenant-breaker" against
God, is fitter for salvation than he that never was
baptized?

Q. 12. Ask them, whether the holy nature of
God be not so contrary to sin, as that it is bias-

68

phemy to say that lie will bring to heaven, and into
the bosom of his eternal delights, an unholy and
unrenewed soul?

Q. 13. Ask them, why it was that Christ came
into the world; whether it was not " to save his
people from their sins," and " to destroy the works
of the devil," and to " purify to himself a peculiar
people zealous of good works," and to bring home
strayed souls to God, and to be " the way to the
Father?" And whether Christ will save that soul
that is not converted by him, and cleansed from his
sins? Or whether it be the dead image only of a
crucified Jesus that is all their Saviour, while they
will have no more of him?

Q. 14. Ask them why they believe, and were
baptised into, the Holy Ghost ? And, whether a
man can enter into the Idngdom of heaven that is
not born of the Spirit as well as of vvater? and that
is not converted, and begins not the world as it were
anew, in a teachable, tractable, newness of life, like
a little child? And whether it be not a certain
truth, that " if any man have not the Spirit of
Christ, he is none of his?"

Q. 15. Ask them why Christ gave the world so
many w^arnings of the damnable nature of the Phari-
sees* hypocrisy, if hypocritical Christians may be
saved? And what were these Pharisees? They
were the masters of the Jewish church, the rabbis,
that must have high places, high tithes, ceremonies,
and formal garments, and must be reverenced of all;
that gave God lip-service, without tlie heart, and
made void his commands, and worshipped him in

69

vain, " teaching for doctrine the commandments of
men," and strictly tithed mint and cummin, while
love, mercy, and justice were passed by ; who wor-
shipped God with abundance of ceremonies, and
buih the tombs, and " garnished the sepulchres of
the saints," while they killed and persecuted those
that did imitate them, and hated the living saints,
but honoured the dead: they were the bitterest ene-
mies and murderers of Christ, on pretence that he
was a blasphemer and a seditious enemy to Cesar
and the common peace, and one that spoke against
the temples: they were the greatest enemies of the
Apostles, and silencers of those that preached Christ's
gospel, and persecuted them that called upon his
name. And had these no need of conversion be-
cause they could say, " God is our father," (when
the devil was their father,) and that they were Abra-
ham's seed? And are not " hypocritical Christians,
drunken Christians, fornicating Christians, carnal
worldly infidel Christians," (the contradiction is your
own), " persecuting Christians, false-named, hypo-
critical Christians," as bad, yea worse, as they abuse
a more excellent profession?

Q. 16. Doth not the holy state of heaven require
holiness in all that shall possess it? Can an unholy
soul there see, and love, and praise, and delight in
God for ever, and in the holy society and employ-
ment of the saints? Is he not more like a Mahome-
tan than a Christian, that looketh for a sensual and
unholy heaven?

Q. 17. What is the difference between the church
and the world? Is not the church a holy society

70

of regenerate souls ? Yea, the church visible is only
those that in baptism vow holiness, and profess it.
Look these hypocrites in the face, and see whether
they do not blush when they repeat, in the creed,
" I believe in the Holy Ghost, I believe in the holy
Catholic church, and communion of saints," who
shall have the " forgiveness of sins, and life ever-
lasting." Ask them, whether they mean holy adul-
terers, holy worldlings, holy perjured persons? Ask
them, whether they mean a communion of saints in
a tavern, in a play-house, in a gaming-house, or a
jesting, stage-play communion? If the church be
holy, be holy if you will be of the church. And
make not the saints and their communion seem
odious, either for their infirmities, or their opposition
to your carnal interests or conceits.

Q. 18. Ask them, whether there be a heaven
and a hell, or not? If not, why are they pretended
Christians? If there be, will God send one man to
heaven and another to hell, to so vast, so amazing,
a difference of state, if there be no great difference
between them here ? If holiness no more differenced
Christians from others, than hearing a sermon or
saying over a prayer doth difference one from an in-
fidel, where were the justice of God in saving some
and damning others? And what were Christianity
better than the religion of " Antonine, Plato, So-
crates, Seneca, Cicero, Plutarch," and others, if
not much worse? Go into London streets, and,
when you have talked with living prudent men, then
go to the painter's shop, and see a comely picture;
and to the looking-glass, and see the appearance of

71

each passenger in a glass, and you have somethhig
Hke the clifterence between a holy soul and a dead
and dressed formal hypocrite.

Q. 19. Ask them whether kings, and all men,
make not a difference between man and man; the
loyal and perfidious, the obedient and disobedient?
and whether they distinguish not themselves between
a friend and a foe; one that loveth them, and one
that robbeth, hateth, or would kill them? And
shall not the more holy God make more difference
between the righteous and the wicked?

Q. 20. But, if they are dead in every point save
carnal interest, ask them why they are preachers or
priests? and, if conversion and holiness be a needless
thing, of what use they are themselves ? and why
must the country be troubled with them, and pay
them tithes, and owe them reverence? When these
twenty questions are well answered, conclude you
may be saved without conversion.

But if, poor soul, thou art fully convinced, and
askest, " What shall I do to be converted?" the
Lord make thee willing, and save thee from hypo-
crisy, and I will quickly tell thee in a few words.

1. Give not over sober thinking of these things,
till thy heart be changed.

2. Come to Christ, and take him for thy Saviour,
thy teacher, thy king, and he will pardon all that is
past, and save thee.

3. Beheve God's love, the pardon of sin, and the
everlasting joys of heaven, that thou mayest feel that
all the pleasures of the world are dross in comparison
of the heavenly delight of faith, and hope and holy
love, and peace of conscience, and sincere obedience.

72

4. " Sin no more wilfully," but forbear that which
thou mayest forbear.

5. Away from temptations, occasions of sin, and
evil company, and be a companion of the humble,
holy, heavenly and sincere.

6. Wait on God's Spirit in the diligent and con-
stant use of his own means. Read, hear, meditate,
pray; pray hard for that grace that must convert
thee; wait thus, and thou shalt not wait in vain.

Pity, O Lord, and persuade, the souls! Let
not Christ's blood, his doctrine, his example, his
Spirit, be lost unto them, and they lost for ever!
Let not heaven be as no heaven to them, while they
dream and doat on the shadows in this world ! And,
G ! save this land from the greater destruction than
all our late plagues, and flames, and divisions, v/hich
our sins and thy threatenings make us fear! G
Lord, in thee have wo trusted, let us never be
confounded !

Having thus contributed my endeavours, in this
preface, to the furtherance of the design of this
" excellent book," I must tell thee, reader, that I
take it for an honour to commend so mascuUne a birth
unto the world. Who the author of this Treatise
was, how he preached, how he died, his life and
letters, lately printed, fully tell you; and I earnestly
recommend the reading of them to all, but especially
to ministers, not to tell them what men have here
been forbidden to preach Christ's gospel, and for
what, nor what men they are that so many years
have done it; but to tell you what men Christ's
minister's should be. But say not, " he killed him-
self with excessive labour, therefore I will take warn-

73

ing and take my ease." For, L He lived in perfect
health all his days, notwithstanding all his labours,
till after his long and hard imprisonment. 2. It was
not the greatest labour of his times of liberty that
hurt him, but his preaching, six, seven, or eight
times in a week, after he was silenced, because he
could not speak to all his people at once. O make
not an ill use of so excellent an example ; say not,
like Judas, " What needs this waste?" His la-
bour, his life, his suffering, his death, were not in
vain. The ages to come, that read his life, and
read his little popular Treatise, and his " Call to
Archippus," shall say they were not in vain. And,
though he was cut off in the midst of his age, and
his longer labours and more elaborate writings thus
prevented, take thankfully this small but methodical,
warm, and serious tract ; read it seriously, and it can-
not be but that it must do thee good.

I am one that have looked into books, sciences,
and speculations of many sorts, and seriously tell
thee, as a dying man, that after all my searches, and
experience, I have found, that philosophical inquiries
into the divine artifices and the nature of things, have,
among a great number of uncertainties, a great many
pretty pleasant probabilities which a holy soul can
make good use of in admiring God, and may find as
a lawful kind of amusement ; but, in the moralities
which Atheists count uncertainties, the knowledge
of God and our duty, and our hopes, the doctrine
and practice of holiness, temperance, charity, and
justice, and the dihgent seeking and joyful hopes of
life everlasting, are all the true wisdom, goodness,
D

74

rest, and comfort of a soul. Whatever be the plea,
tliis is the satisfying certainty, the business, and the
beautifying improvement of our lives.

I have done, when I have sought to remove a
little scandal, which I foresaw I should sustain,
wdiere himself and two of his friends, in writing the
Preface to his Life, make such mention of my name,
which I cannot own, because it would seem praising
him for praising me. I confess it lookcth ill in mc,
but I had not the pow^r of other men's writings, and
dared not therefore forbear that which was his due.
Had I directed their pens, they should have taken
a middle way, and only esteemed me a very un-
worthy servant of Christ, who yet longs to see^the
peace and prosperity of his church; and I should
have forgone their undeserved praise, as other men
should have done their slanderous libels. But, if
the reader get no harm by it, I assure him, the use
I made of it was, to lament that I am really so much
w^orse than they esteemed me; and fear lest I should
prove yet worse than I discern myself, who see so
much sin and weakness in my betters, and much
more in myself, as to make it the constant sentiment
of my soul, that pride of men's greatness, wis-
dom, and GOODNESS, is the first part of the devil's
IMAGE on man's soul; and darkness is the second;
and MALIGNITY the third.

RICHARD BAXTER.

AN EPISTLE

TO THE

UNCONVERTED READER.

Reader,

How well were it, if there were no more uncon-
verted ones among us than those to whom this is di-
rected ! Unconverted persons, how many are there ?
but how few unconverted readers, especially of such
books as this before thee ! A play or romance better
suits the desires, and therefore must have more of the
eye of such ; what will cherish the evil heart only is
most grateful, not what will change it. How many
are there, to whom this is directed, w^ho will not know
that these are the men ! And how little hope is there
that this excellent Treatise should reach its end with
those that apprehend themselves not concerned in it !
Art thou not one of them? Art thou a convert, or
art thou yet in thy sins ? What is sin ? What is
conversion ? It may be thou canst tell me neither,
and yet thou sayest a convert thou art. But to what
purpose is it then likely to be for the servant of God
to treat with thee about this matter ! Let him bid
thee believe. Thou art a believer already; let him
bid thee repent and turn to the Lord. That work,
D2

76

thou sayest, is not to do now. What can there be
said to this man that is likely to bring him to good?
Friend, know thyself better, or thou perishest with-
out remedy. Thou mayest pray, but what hope is
there in thy praying ? Thou mayest read, but what
hope is there in thy reading? Yet, read on; this
hope there is, in this book there is eye-salve that
may heal thee of thy blindness. In this book there
is a glass that will show thee thy face. Dost thou
know thy own face when thou seest it ? Behold
thy very image in those marks that are given of an
unconverted person; read and consider them, and
then say if thou art not the man.

Be willing to know thyself, and to know the
worst of thy case : wink not at the light ; hide not
thyself from thine own soul. Wilt thou never know
thy disease till it be past remedy ?

Much of our hardest work would be over, if we
could see the sinners, to whom we are sent, to be
convinced sinners. If we could but open the blind
eyes, there were hopes we should shortly raise the
dead.

Sinner, of a truth thou art in evil case, whether
thou know it or not; thou art among the dead, and
there is but a step betwixt thee and hell. Thou
wilt not believe it though it be told thee : yet once
again, let me beseech thee, come to the glass that
is here presented to thee, and narrowly observe
whether the very marks of the dead be not found
upon thee.

If there be miscarriages in this first work, if
thou wilt not understand thy misery and thy danger,

77

there is an end of all hopes concerning thee. Whilst
self-ignorance abides upon thee, all the counsels,
that are necessary to a man in thy case, will do thee
no good ; they are never likely to prosper with thee.
Who will be persuaded to do that which he believes
is already done ? Who will take the counsel of the
physician that doth not think himself sick ? The
man of God may spare his pains of persuading thee
to conversion, whilst thou art confident thou art con-
verted already. Who will be at the pains of re-
pentance, that concludes he hath already repented?
Who will be at the labour and pangs of the new
birth, that is confident he is already " passed from
death unto life ?'*

But, friend, let me reason a little with thee.
Thou art confident it is well with thee, yet why wilt
thou not yield to thus much at least, to put it to the
question. Am I not mistaken? Thou art worse than
mad if thou thinkest such a question may not be
put. Dost thou not know that thy heart is false
and deceitful ? Yet because it speaks good concern-
ing thee, must it not be questioned whether it speaks
true or not? Be so wise as to conclude, " I may be
mistaken;" and thus come to the trial whether thou
art mistaken or not.

And if, upon trial, by the marks that are before
thee, thou come to be undeceived, and see thyself
wrapped up in that misery which hitherto thou
wouldst not suspect, the next news I expect to hear
from thee is, " What shall I do to be saved ?" O,
were it once come to that ! then thou hast an answer
at hand, in those means thou wilt find prescribed

78

thee. And, because they are such as thou wilt
hardly be persuaded to use, take in the motives that
follow, and they will help down the means; consider
both the one and the other; and, if thou dost not
find the means proper, and the motives weighty, I
think I shall do thee no wrong, if I tell thee, thou
art still of a blind mind, and a harder heart.

Friend, the matter which this little book comes
to treat with thee about is of the highest importance;
it is a matter of life or death. If thou sayest, " the
terms upon which life is offered are hard," consider,
is it not harder to die ? He is worthy to die who
will lose his soul to save his labour. If thou couldst
step down into the deep, and see those damned souls,
who are bound in everlasting chains of vengeance,
and should ask them. Now what do you think of the
terms upon which life was offered? Now what
think you of that repentance, of that obedience, of
that circumspection, self-denial, and the greatest se-
verity, which by the gospel were imposed upon you?
If you might once again have the same terms grant-
ed you for your redemption from this place of tor-
ment, would you yet say, hard terms! let me rather
die this death for ever, than live such a life. Shouldst
thou ask them thus, that have felt what it is to be
damned, what answer dost thou think they would
make ? O friend ! never again " groan under the
difficulties of conversion, till thou believe them to be
worse than hell." But I will no farther anticipate
my worthy Author.

Nor is there much need I should commend either
himself or his works : for the Author himself thou

79

raayest at a small charge get acquainted with, in that
history of his life and death which is extant, con-
cerning which I shall only say.

Sic mihi contingat vivere, sicque mori ;

and for this work of his, what commendation I shall
give of it would he needed no longer than till thou
hast read it over: thou wilt find such wine in it as
needs no bush. This only I shall say, as far as
my credit will go, it is exceedingly well worth thy
most serious perusal. O mayest thou hear that
voice (such a voice from heaven there is, whether
thou hear it or not,) " take up and read;" read friend,
and read over again, read and understand, understand
and pray, pray and consider, and consent unto Him,
who by the pen of his servant calls to thee from
heaven, " Why wilt thou die ? Turn and live." O
suffer this word of instruction and exhortation to
open thy blind eyes, to turn thee from darkness to
light, from the power of Satan unto God, that thou
mayest receive forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance
among them that are sanctified. When it is thus
with thee, then pray for

Thy friend, and servant of thy soul,

RICHARD ALLEINE.

AN

ALARM

TO

UNCONVERTED SINNERS.

D 3

AN

ALARM

TO

UNCONVERTED SINNERS.

INTRODUCTION.

AN EARNEST INVITATION TO SINNERS TO TURN TO
GOD, IN ORDER TO THEIR ETERNAL SALVATION.

Dearly beloved and longed for, I gladly acknow-
ledge myself a debtor to you all, and am concerned,
as I would be found a good steward to the household
of God, to give to every one his portion. But the
physician is most solicitous for those patients whose
case is most doubtful and hazardous, and the father's
bowels are especially turned towards his dying child —
the numbers of unconverted souls among you call for
the most earnest compassion and hasty diligence to
pluck them out of the burning, and therefore to
these first I shall apply myself in these pages.

But whence shall I fetch my argument, or how
shall I choose ray words? Lord, wherewith shall I
win them? O that I could but tell! I would
write unto them in tears, I would weep out every
argument, I would petition them on my knees.

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verily (were I able) I would. O how thankful
would I be, if they would be prevailed with to repent
and turn !

How long have I travailed in birth with you?
How frequently have I made suit to you ? How
often would I have gathered you? How instant
have I been with you ? This is what I have prayed
for, and studied for, many years, that I might bring
you to God. O that I might but do it ! Will
you yet be entreated ? O what a happy man might
you yet make me, if ye would but hearken to me,
and suffer me to bring you over to Jesus Christ !

But, Lord, how insufficient am I for this work !
I have been many a year pleading for thee, but they
would not go with me: Lord, what a task hast thou
set me to do ! Alas ! wherewith shall I pierce the
scales of Leviathan, or make the heart to feel, that
is hard as stone, hard as a piece of the nether mill-
stone? Shall I go and speak to the grave, and
look when the dead shall obey me and come forth ?
Shall I give the blind to see? From the beginning
of the world was it heard that a man opened the eyes
of the blind; but thou, O Lord, canst pierce the
scales and prick the heart of the sinner : I can but
draw the bow at a venture, but do thou direct the
arrows between the joints of the harness, kill sin,
and save the soul of the sinner that casts his eyes
on these labours.

But I must address myself to you to whom I am
sent; yet I am at a great loss. Would to God I
knew how to go to work with you ! Would I fore-
go any labour ? God knoweth, you yourselves are

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my witnesses, how I have followed you in private as
well as in public, and have brought the gospel to
your doors, testifying to you the necessity of the
new birth, and persuading you to look in time after
a sound and thorou^rh chanfre. Beloved, I have not
acted a part among you to serve my own advantage.

Our gospel is not yea and nay. Have you not
heard the same truths from the pulpit, by public la-
bours, by private letters, and by personal instruc-
tions? Brethren, I am of the same mind as ever —
that holiness is the best choice; that there is no
entering into heaven but by the new birth; that
" without holiness you shall never see God." Ah,
my beloved, refresh my bowels in the Lord! " If
there be any consolation in Christ, any comfort of
love, any fellowship of the Spirit, any bowels of
mercy, fulfil ye my joy." Now give yourselves unto
the Lord. Now set yourselves to seek him. Now
set up the Lord Jesus in your hearts, and set him
up in your houses. Now come in and " kiss the
Son," and accept the tenders of mercy, touch his
sceptre and live; why will ye die? I beg not for
myself, but fain I would have you happy: this is
the prize I run for, and the object I aim at. My
soul's desire and prayer for you is, that you may be
saved.

The famous Lycurgus having instituted most
strict and wholesome laws for his people, told them
he was necessitated to go a journey, and got them
to bind themselves in an oath, that his laws should
be observed till his return. This done, he went
into a voluntary banishment, and never returned,

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tliat they might, by virtue of their oath, be engaged
to the perpetual observation of his laws. Methinks
I should be glad of the hard condition which he
endured, (though I love you tenderly,) so I might
but thereby engage you thoroughly to the Lord
Jesus Christ.

Dearly beloved, would you rejoice the heart of
your minister? why then, embrace the counsels of
the Lord, by me. Forego your sins; turn to prayer;
set up the worship of God in your families ; keep
at a distance from the corruption of the times. What
greater joy, to a minister, than to hear of souls born
unto Christ by him, " and his children walk in the
truth?"

Brethren, I beseech you, suffer friendly plainness
and freedom with you in your deepest concerns. I
am not playing the orator, to make a learned speech
to you; these lines are upon a weighty errand in-
deed, that is, to convince, to convert, and to save
you. My work is not to please you, but to save
you : nor is my business with your fancies, but your
hearts: if I have not your hearts, I have nothing.
If I were to please your ears, I would sing another
song: if I were to preach myself, I would steer
another course; I would then tell you a smoother
tale, and speak peace to you; for how can Ahab
love his Micaiah " that always prophesies evil con-
cerning him?" But how much better are the
wounds of a friend than the fair speeches of a harlot,
who flattereth with her lips " till the dart strike
through the liver," and " hunteth for the precious
life?" If I were to quiet a crying infant, I might

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sing him a pleasant song, and rock him asleep :
but, when the child is fiiUen into the fire, the parent
takes another course; he will not go to still him
with a song or a trifle. I know, if we speed not
with you, you are lost; if we cannot get your con-
sent to "arise and come away," you perish for ever:
no conversion, and no salvation: I must get your
good will, or leave you miserable.

But here the difficulty of my work again recurs:
" 'Lord, choose my stones out of the rock;' I come
in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the
armies of Israel. I come forth, like the stripling
David, to ' wrestle, not with flesh and blood, but
with principalities and powers, and rulers of the
darkness of this world.' This day let the Lord
smite the Philistine, and spoil the strong man of his
armour, and give me to deliver the captives out of
his hand: Lord, choose my words, choose my wea-
pons for me; and when I put my hand into the bag,
and take thence a stone and sling it, do thou carry
it to the mark, and make it sink, not into the fore-
head, but the heart of the unconverted sinner, and
smite him to the ground. Thou hast sent me, as
Abraham did Eleazer, to « take a wife unto my
master thy son,' but my discouraged soul is ready
to fear the woman will not be willing to follow me.
O Lord God of my master, I pray thee send me
good speed this day, and show kindness to my master,
and send thine angel before me, and prosper my way,
that I may take a wife unto thy son : that as thy
servant rested not till he had brought Isaac and
Rebecca together, so I may be successful to bring

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Christ and the souls of my people together before
we part."

But I turn me unto you. Some of you do not
know what I mean by conversion, and in vain shall
I persuade you to that which you do not understand;
and, therefore, for your sakes, I shall show, " what
this conversion is." Others cherish secret hopes of
mercy, though they continue as they are; and for
them I must show the " necessity of conversion."
Others harden themselves with a vain conceit that
they are converted already, unto them I must show
the "marks of the unconverted." Others, because
they feel no harm, fear none, and so sleep upon the
top of the mast; to them I shall show " the misery
of the unconverted." Others sit still, because they
see not their way; to them I shall show the " means
of conversion." And, finally, for the quickening of
all, I shall close with the " motives to conversion."

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CHAPTER I.

Showing^ in the negative, w/iat CoJiversion is not,
and correctiii": some mistakes about it.

Q

Let the blind Samaritans ** worship they know
not what." Let the heathen Athenians inscribe their
altar " unto the unknown God." Let the guileful
Papists commend the mother of destruction for the
mother of devotion ; they that know man's constitu-
tion, and the nature of the reasonable soul's opera-
tion, cannot but know that, the understanding having
the empire in the soul, he that will go rationally to
work, must labour to let in the light here. And,
therefore, that you may not mistake me, I shall
show you what I mean by the conversion I persuade
you to endeavour after.

It is storied that, when Jupiter let down the
golden chaplets from heaven, all but one were stolen,
upon which, lest they should lose a relic of so great
esteem, they made five others so like it, that, if any
were so wickedly minded as to steal that also, they
should not be able to discern which was it. And
truly, my beloved, the devil hath made many coun-
terfeits of this conversion, and cheats one with this,
and another with that ; and such craft and artifice
he hath in his mystery of deceits, that, if it were
possible, he would deceive the veiy elect. Now,
that I may cure the fatal mistake of some, who think
they are converted when they are not, as well as re-

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move the troubles and fears of others, that think
they are not converted when they are, I shall show
you the nature of conversion, both negatively, or
what it is not, and, positively, what it is.
We will begin with the negative.

1. It is not the taking upon us the profession of
Christianity. Doubtless Christianity is more than
a name. If we will hear Paul, it lies " not in word,
but in power." If to cease to be Jews and Pagans,
and to put on the Christian profession, had been
true conversion, (as this is all that some would have
to be understood by it,) who were better Christians
than they of Sardis and Laodicea? These were all
Christians by profession, and had a name to live ;
but because they had but a name, are condemned by
Christ. Are there not many that mention the name
of the Lord Jesus, that yet " depart not from ini-
quity," and " profess they know God, but in works
they deny him ?" And will God receive these for
true converts, because turned to the Christian reli-
gion ? What ! converts from sin, when yet they
live in sin! It is a visible contradiction. Surely, if
the lamp of profession would have served the turn,
the foolish virgins had never been shut out. We
find not only professors, but preachers of Christ and
wonder-workers, turned off because evil-workers.

2. It is not being washed in the laver of regen-
eration, or putting on the badge of Christ in bap-
tism. Many wear the livery of Christ, and yet
never stand to their colours, nor follow their leader.
Ananias and Sapphira, and Magus were baptized as
well as the rest. How fondly do many mistake here,

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deceiving and being deceived ! dreaming that effec-
tual grace is necessarily connected with the external
administration of baptism, (which is but to revive the
Popish tenet of the sacraments working grace,) and
so every infant shall be regenerated, not only sacra-
mentally, but really and properly. Hence men do
fancy, that, being regenerated already when baptized,
they need no farther change.

But, if this were so, then all that were baptized
in their infancy must necessarily be saved, because
the promise of pardon and salvation is made to con-
version and regeneration.

Our calling, sanctification, (as to the beginning
of it,) or conversion, (which are but the same things
under different conceptions and expressions,) is but
a middle link in the golden chain, fastened to elec-
tion at one end, and glorification at the other; " For
whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate;
and whom he did predestinate, them he also called;
and whom he called, them he also justified; and
whom he justified, them he also glorified." The
silver cord cannot be broken, nor the connection
between sanctification and salvation, between grace
and glory, impiously violated. If we were indeed
begotten again, it is " to an inheritance incorrupti-
ble, reserved in heaven for us," and the divine power
is engaged to keep us for it. And, if the very re-
generate may perish at last in their sins, we will no
more say, that " he that is born of God, his seed
remaineth in him, and he cannot sin," (that is, unto
death,) nor that it is impossible to " deceive the
very elect."

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And, indeed, were this true, then we need look
no farther to see our names written in heaven, than
only to search the register, and see whether we were
baptized : then I would keep the certificate of my
baptism as my fairest evidence for heaven, and should
come by assurance of my gracious state by the mini-
ster wetting my face with his finger: then men
should do well to carry but a certificate of their bap-
tism, under the register's hand, when they died, (as
the philosopher wished to be buried with the bish-
op's bond in his hand, which he had given him for
receiving his alms in another world,) and, upon
sight of this, there were no doubt of their admission
into heaven.

In short, if there be no more necessary to conver-
sion, or regeneration, than to profess the Christian
religion, or to be baptized in infancy, this will be di-
rectly opposed to that Scripture, Matt. vii. 14. as
well as multitudes of others : For, first, we will then
no more say, " strait is the gate, and narrow is the
way:" for, if all that were baptized, and are of the
true religion, are saved, the door is become exceed-
ingly wide, and we will henceforth say, " wide is the
gate, and broad is the way that leadeth unto life:"
for, if this be true, whole parishes, yea, whole
counties, and whole kingdoms, may go in a breast ;
and we will no more teach, that the righteous is
scarcely saved, or that there is need of taking the
kingdom of heaven by violence, and striving to enter
in. Surely, if the way be so easy as many take it,
that there is little more necessary than to be regen-
erated in our baptism, and cry " God have mercy,"

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and be absolved by the minister at our end, it is un-
necessary to put ourselves to such running, and
seeking, and knocking, and fighting, and wresthng
as the word requires as necessary to salvation. Se-
condly, if this be true, we will no more say, " few
there be tliat find it;" yea, we will rather say, ** few
there be that miss it :" we will no more say, that, of
the many that are " called, but few are chosen,"
and that even of the professing " Israel but a rem-
nant shall be saved." If this doctrine be true, we
will not say any more, with the disciples, " Who
then shall be saved?" but rather, Who then shall
not be saved? Then, if a man be called a brother,
(that is, a Christian,) and be baptized, though he be
a fornicator, or a railer, or covetous, or a drunkard,
yet he shall " inherit the kingdom of God."

But the Arminian will reply. Such as these,
though they did receive regenerating grace in bap-
tism, are since fallen away, and must be renewed
again, or else they cannot be saved.

I answer, 1. That there is an infallible connec-
tion between regeneration and salvation, as we have
already shown. 2. Then men must be born again
a second time ; which carries a great deal of absurd-
ity in its very face: and why may not men be twice
born in nature as well as in grace ? But, 3. And
above all, this grants, however, the thing I contend
for, that, whatever men do or pretend to receive in
baptism, if they be found afterwards to be grossly
ignorant, or profane, or formal, without the power of
godliness, they '' must be born again," or else be
shut out of the kingdom of God. So then they

9'4

must have more to plead for themselves than their
baptismal regeneration.

Well, in this you see all are agreed, that, be it
more or less that is received in baptism, (if when
men come to years,) they are evidently unsanctified,
they must be renewed again by a thorough and
powerful change, or else they cannot escape the
damnation of hell. Friends and brethren, " be not
deceived ; " God is not mocked." Whether it be
your baptism, or whatever else that you pretend, I
tell you, from the living God, that if any of you
be prayerless persons, or unclean, or malicious, or
covetous, or riotous, or a scoffer, or a lover of evil
company, in a word, if you are not holy, strict, and
self-denying Christians, you cannot be saved, except
you be transformed by a farther work upon you, and
renewed again by repentance.

Thus I have shown, that it is not enough to
evidence a man to be regenerate, that he hath been
baptized; effectual grace not necessarily accompany-
ing baptism, as some have vainly asserted. But I
must answer one objection before I proceed.

Objection, The sacraments do certainly attain
their ends, where man doth not lay some obstruc-
tion ; which infants do not.

Solution. I answer, it is not the end of baptism to
regenerate. 1. Because then there would be no
reason why it should be confined only to the seed
of believers; for both the law of God and the nature
of charity require us to use the means of conversion
for all, as far as we can have opportunity. Were
this true, no charity so great as to catch the children

95

of Turks and Heathens, and baptize them, and so
despatch them to heaven out of hand: like the bloody-
wretches that made the poor Protestants, to save
their lives, swear they would come to mass, and that
they would never depart from it, and then put them
forthwith to death, saying, " They would hang them
while in a good mind." 2. Because it pre-supposes
regeneration, and therefore cannot be intended to
confer it. In all the express instances in Scripture,
we find that baptism doth suppose their repenting,
believing, receiving the Holy Ghost, Acts viii. 37.
and ii. 38. and x. 47. Mark xvi. 16. And it were
no small absurdity to imagine that baptism was in-
stituted for an end, of which not one of the first sub-
jects was capable, for they were all adult persons,
and supposed to have faith and repentance according
as they professed, and their children were not bap-
tized till after them in their right. Were this doc-
trine true, baptism would make disciples; but we
find it doth bespeak them such before-hand. 3. Be-
cause baptism, being but a seal of the covenant, can-
not convey the benefits, but according to the tenor
of the covenant to which it is set.

Now the covenant is conditional; therefore the
seals convey conditionally. The covenant requires
faith and repentance, as the conditions of the grand
benefits, "pardon and life;" and what the covenant
doth not convey but upon these conditions, the seal
cannot: so that baptism doth pre-suppose faith and
repentance in the subject, without which it neither
doth nor can convey the saving benefits: otherwise
the seal should convey contrary to the tenor of the
covenant to which it is affixed.

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3. It lies not in a moral righteousness. This
exceeds not " the righteousness of the Scribes and
Pharisees," and therefore cannot bring us to the
kingdom of God. Paul, while unconverted, "touch-
ing the righteousness which is in the law, was blame-
less." The self justiciary could say, " I am no ex-
tortioner, adulterer, unjust," &c. Thou must have
something more than all this to show, or else, how-
ever thou mayest justify thyself, God will condemn
thee. I condemn not morality, but warn you not to
rest here: piety includes morality, as Christianity
doth humanity, and grace reason; but we must not
divide the tables.

4. It consists not in an external conformity to the
rules of piety. It is too manifest men may have a
" form of godliness, without the power." Men may
pray long, and fast often, and hear gladly, and be
very forward in the service of God, though costly
and expensive, and yet be strangers to conversion.
They must have more to plead for themselves, than
that they keep their church, give alms, and make
\ise of prayer, to prove themselves sound converts.
There is no outward service, but a hypocrite may do,
even to the " giving all his goods to feed the poor,
and his members to the fire."

5. It lies not in the restraining of corruption by
education, human laws, or the force of incumbent
affliction. It is too common and easy to mistake
education for grace; but, if this were enough, who
was a better man than Jehoash? While Jehoiadah,
his uncle lived, he was very forward in God's ser-
vice, and calls upon him to repair the house of the

97

Lord: but there was nothing more than good edu-
cation all this while; for, when his good tutor was
taken out of the way, he appears to have been but a
wolf chained up, and falls into idolatry.

6. In short, it consists not in illumination or con-
viction, in a superficial change or partial reformation.
An apostate may be a man enlightened, and a Felix
tremble under conviction, and a Herod amend many
things. It is one thing to have sin alarmed only by
convictions, and another to have it captivated and
crucified by converting grace. Many, because they
have been troubled in conscience for their sins, think
well of their case, miserably mistaking " conviction
for conversion." With these Cain might have
passed for a convert, who ran up and down the world
like a man distracted, under the rage of a guilty con-
science, till, with building and business, he had worn
it away. Others think, that, because they have
given over their riotous courses, and have broken off
from evil company, or some particular vice, and re-
duced to sobriety and civility, they are now no other
than real converts, forgetting that there is a vast dif-
ference between being sanctified and civilized; and
that many seek to enter into the kingdom of heaven,
and "are not far from it," and arrive to the almost
of Christianity, and yet fall short at last. While
conscience alarms them, many will pray, hear, read,
and forbear their delightful sin: but no sooner is the
lion asleep, than they are at it again. Who were
more religious than the Jews, when God's hand was
upon them ? Yet no sooner was the affliction over,
than they forgot God, and showed their religion to
E

98

be a fit. Thou mayest have discarded a trouble-
some sin, that renders thee uneasy, and have escaped
those gross pollutions of the world, and yet not have
changed thy sinful nature all the while.

You may cast the lead out of the rude mass into
the form and features of a man, yet all the while it
is but lead still; so a man may pass through divers
transmutations, from ignorance to knowledge, from
profaneness to civility, thence to a form of religion,
and all this while he is but carnal and unregenerate,
whilst his nature remains unchanged.

Application. Hear then, O sinners, hear as you
would live, so come and hear. Why would you so
wilfully deceive yourselves, or build your hopes upon
the sand? I know he shall find hard work of it that
goes to pluck away your hopes. It cannot but be
ungrateful to you, and truly it is not pleasing to me.
I set about it as a surgeon, when to cut off a putri-
fied member from his well-beloved friend, which of
necessity he must do, though with an aching heart,
a pitiful eye, and a trembling hand. But under-
stand me, brethren; I am only taking down the
ruinous house, which will otherwise speedily fall of
Itself, and bury you in the rubbish, that I may build
it fair, strong, and firm for ever. " The hope of
the wicked shall perish," if God be true to his word.
And hadst not thou better, O sinner, let the word
convince thee now in time, and let go thy false and
self-deluding hopes, than have death too late to open
thine eyes, and find thyself in hell before thou art
aware? I should be a false and faithless shepherd
if I should not tell you, that you, who have built

99

your hopes upon no better grounds than these be-
fore-mentioned, are yet in your sins. Let your con-
science speak: What is it that you have to plead for
yourselves? Is it that you wear Christ's livery?
that you bear his name? that you are of the visible
church? that you have knowledge in the points of
religion, are civilized, perform religious duties, are
just in your dealings, have been troubled in con-
science for your sins ? I tell you, from the Lord,
these pleas will never be accepted at God's bar : all
this, though good in itself, will not prove you con-
verted, and so v/ill not suffice to your salvation. O !
look about you, and bethink yourselves of turning
speedily and soundly. Set to praying, and to read-
ing, and to studying your own hearts; rest not till
God hath made thorough work with you; for you
must be other men, or else you are lost men.

But if these be short of conversion, what shall 1
say of the profane sinner ! It may be he will scarce
cast his eyes or lend his ear to this discourse; but,
if there be any such reading it, he must know, from
the Lord that made him, that he is far from the king-
dom of God. May a man be civilized and not con-
verted: where then shall the drunkard and glutton
appear? May a man keep company with the wise
virgins, and yet be shut out; shall not " a companion
of fools" much more be destroyed ? May a man be
true and trusty in his dealings, and yet not be jus-
tified of God; what then will become of thee, O
wretched man, whose conscience tells thee thou art
false in thy trade, and false in thy word, and makest
thy advantage by a lying tongue? If men may be
E2

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enlightened and brought to the performance of holy
duties, and yet go down to perdition for resting in
them, what will become of you, O miserable families,
that live without God in the world? and of you, O
wretched sinners, with whom God is scarce in all
your thoughts; that are so ignorant that you cannot,
or so careless that you will not pray? O repent and
be converted; break off your sins by righteousness;
away to Christ for pardoning and renewing grace;
give up yourselves to him to walk with him in holi-
ness, or else you shall never see God. O ! that you
would take the warnings of God! In his name I
onee more admonish you: "Turn you at my re-
proof." " Forsake the foolish, and live." " Be
sober, righteous, godly." " Wash your hands, you
sinners; purify your hearts, ye double-minded."
" Cease to do evil, learn to do well." But, if you
will not, you must die.

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CHAPTER II.

Showing posit iveli/ what Conversion is.

I MAY not leave you with your eyes half open, as
he that saw " men as trees walking." The word is
profitable for " doctrine as well as reproof." And
therefore, having thus far conducted you by the
shelves and rocks of so many dangerous mistakes, I
will guide you at length into the harbour of truth.

Conversion then, in short, lies in the thorough
change both of the heart and life. I shall briefly
describe its nature and causes.

1. The author is the Spirit of God, and therefore
it is called " the sanctification of the Spirit," and
" the renewing of the Holy Ghost," yet not exclud-
ing the other persons in the Trinity; for the Apos-
tle teacheth us to " bless the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, for that he hath begotten us again to
a lively hope." And Christ is said to " give re-
pentance unto Israel," and is called the " everlasting
father," and we his seed, and " the children which
God hath given him." Yet this work is principally
ascribed to the Holy Ghost, and so we are said to
be " born of the Spirit."

So then, it is a work above man's power: " We
are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man, but of God." Never think
thou canst convert thyself: if ever thou wouldst be
savingly converted, thou must despair of doing it in

102

thine own strength. It is a resurrection from the
dead, " You hath he quickened, who were dead in
trespasses and sins;" a new creation; a work of ab-
solute omnipotence. Are these out of the reach of
human power? If thou hast no more than thou
hadst by thy first birth, a good nature, a meek and
chaste temper, &c. thou art a very stranger to true
conversion: this is a supernatural work.

2. The moving cause is internal or external.

The internal mover is free grace alone. " Not by
works of righteousness which we have done, but of
his own mercy he saved us, and by the renewing
of the Holy Ghost." " Of his own will begat he
us." We are chosen and called unto sanctification,
not for it.

God finds nothing in a man to turn his heart to
him, but to turn it from him. Enough to prov-oke
his loathing. Nothing to provoke his love. Look
back upon thyself, O Christian ! look " upon thyself
in thy blood." O ! reflect upon thy sinful nature !
Do not thine " own clothes abhor thee?" How
then should holiness and pureness love thee? " Be
astonished, O heavens," at this; be moved, O earth !
Who must but needs cry, '* grace! grace!" Hear
and blush, you children of the Most High ; O you
unthankful generation ! that free grace is no more
in your mouths, in your thoughts, no more adored,
admired, commended, by such as you ! One would
think you should be doing nothing but praising and
admiring God wherever you are. How can you
ever forget such grace, or pass it over with a slight
and seldom mention ? What but free grace should

103

move God to love you, unless enmity could do it, or
deformity could do it? How affectionately doth
Peter lift up his hands ! " Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus, who of his abu.ndant
mercy hath begotten us again." How feelingly
doth Paul magnify the free mercy of God in it I
" God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love
wherewith he loved us, hath quickened us together
with Christ : By grace ye are saved."

The external mover is the merit and intercession
of the blessed Jesus. He hath " obtained gifts for
the rebellious," and through him it is that God
worketh in us what " is well pleasing in his sight."
Through him are all spiritual blessings bestowed
upon us in heavenly things. He interceded for the
elect that believed not. Every convert is the fruit
of his travail. He is made sanctified to us. He
sanctified himself, that is, set apart himself as a sacri-
fice, that we may be sanctified. We are " sancti-
fied through the ofiering of his body," once for all.

It is nothinsj then but the merit and intercession
of Christ, that prevails with God to bestow on us con-
verting grace. If thou art a new creature, thou
knowest to whom thou owest it; to Christ's suffer-
ings and prayers. Hence the natural affection of
a believer to Christ. If any in the world have
the same claim to thy heart that Christ can, let
them show it. Doth Satan put in? Doth the
world court thee? Doth sin sue for thy heart?
Why — were these crucified for thee? O Christian,
love and serve the Lord whilst thou hast a being.
Do not even the publicans love those that love

104

them, and show kindness to them that are kind to
them?

3. The instrument is either personal or real.

The personal is the ministry. " I have begot-
ten you in Christ, through the gospel." Christ's
minister's are they that are sent " to open men's
eyes, and to turn them to God."

O unthankful world, little do you know what
you are doing while you are persecuting the messen-
gers of the Lord ! These are they whose business
it is (under Christ) to save you. Whom have you
reproached and blasphemed? Against whom have
you exalted your voice, " and lifted your eyes on
hio-h." " These are the servants of the most high
God, that show unto you the way of salvation," and
" do you thus requite them? O foolish and un-
wise!" These are the instruments that God iiseth
to convert and save you: and do you insult your
physicians, and throw your pilots overboard ? " Fa-
ther, forgive them; for they know not what they

do."

TJie instrument real is the word. We are be-
(Tottcn by the word of the truth : This is it, " that
enlio-htens the eye;" that " converteth the soul,"
that " maketh wise to salvation." This is the in-
corruptible seed, by which we are born again. If
we are washed, it is " by the word." If we are
sanctified, it is " through the truth." This gen-
erates faith, and regenerates us. " Of his own will
bef'-at he us with the word of truth."

O ye saints, how should ye love the word ! for
by this you have been converted. O ye sinners, how

105

should you ply the word^! for by this you must be
converted. No other ordinary means but this. You
that have felt its renewing power, make much of it
while you live; be ever thankful for it; tie it about
your necks; write it upon your hand; lay it in your
bosoms. When you go, let it lead you; when you
sleep, let it keep you; when you wake, let it talk
with you : say with holy David, " I will never for-
get thy precepts, for by them thou hast quickened
me." You, that are unconverted, read the word
with diligence; flock to it where powerfully preach-
ed: fill the porches as " the multitude of the impo-
tent blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of
the water;" pray for the coming of the Spirit in the
word; come oft' thy knees to the sermon, and go to
thy knees from the sermon. The seed doth not pros-
per, because not watered by prayers and tears, nor
covered by meditation.

4. The final cause is man's salvation,* and God's
glory. We are " chosen through sanctification to
salvation," called that we might be glorified, but
especially " that God might be glorified," that we
should " show forth his praise," and " be fruitful
in good works." O Christian ! do not forget the
end of thy calling; " let thy light shine," let thy
lamp burn; let thy fruits be good and many, and in
season; let all thy designs fall in with God's, that
he may be " magnified in thee." Why should
God repent that he hath made thee a Christian, as
in the time of the old world that he made them
men? Why shouldst thou be an eye-sore in his
vineyard by thy unfruitfulness? or " a son that
E3

106

causeth shame," as it vveje " a grief to thy father,
and a bitterness to her that bare thee?" O let the
" womb bless thee that bare thee!"

5. The subject is the elect sinner, and in that
all his parts and powers, members and mind. Whom
God predestinates, them only he calls. None are
drawn to Christ by their calling, nor come to him
by believing, but his sheep, those " whom the Fa-
tiier hath given him." EflPectual calling runs equal
with eternal election.

Thou beginnest at the wrong end if thou disputest
first about thine election. Prove thy conversion, and
then never doubt of thy election: or, canst thou not
yet prove it? set upon a present and thorough turn-
ing. Whatever God's purposes be, (which are
secret,) I am sure his precepts are plain. How
desperately do rebels argue ! If I am elected, I shall
be saved, do what I will; if not, I shall be damned,
do what I can. Perverse sinner ! wilt thou begin
where thou shouldest end? Is not the word before
thee? Whatsaithit? " Repent and be converted,
that your sins may be blotted out." " If ye mor-
tify the deeds of the body, you shall live." Believe
and be saved. What can be plainer? Do not
stand still disputing about thine election, but set to
repenting and believing; cry to God for converting
grace. Revealed things belong to thee ; in these
busy thyself. W^hatever God's purposes be, I am
sure his promises are true ; whatever the decrees of
heaven be, I am sure, that if I repent and believe,
I shall be saved ; and that, if I repent not, I shall
be damned. Is not here plain ground for thee?
and wilt thou yet run upon the rocks ?

107

More particularly, this change of conversion passes
throughout the whole subject. A carnal person may
have some shreds of good morality ; but he is never
good throughout. Conversion is not the repairing of
the old building; but it takes%ll down, and erects a
new structure. The sincere Christian is quite a new
fabric, from the foundation to the top-stone. He
is a " new man," a new creature. " All things are
become new." Conversion is a deep work, a heart-
work. It makes a man to be in a new world. It
goes throughout the man, throughout the mind,
throughout the members, throughout the motion of
the whole life.

1. Throughout the mind. It makes an univer-
sal change within.

First, it turns the balance of the judgment; so
that God and his glory do weigh down all carnal and
worldly interest. It opens the eye of the mind,
and makes the scales of its native ignorance to fall
off, and " turns men from darkness to light." The
man, that before saw no danger in his condition, now
concludes himself lost and for ever undone, except
renewed by the power of grace. He, that formerly
thought'there was little evil in sin, now comes to see
it to be the chief of evils : he sees the unreasonable-
ness, unrighteousness, the deformity, and vileness
that are in sin ; so that he is affrighted with it,
loathes it, dreads it, flees it, and even abhors him-
self for it. He that could see little sin in himself,
and could find no matter for confession, (as it was
said of that learned ignoramus Bellarmine, who, it
seems, while he knew so much abroad, was such a

108

miserable stranger to himself, that, when he was to
be confessed by the priest, could not remember any
things to confess, but was fain to go back to the sins
of his youth) — I say, he that could not find matter
for confession, unless it were some few gross and
glaring evils, now sin reviveth with him, he sees the
sinfulness of his heart, and desperate and deep pollu-
tion of his whole nature; he cries, "unclean, unclean."
Lord, purge me with hyssop, wash me thoroughly,
" create in me a new heart." He sees himself
" altogether become filthy," corrupt both root and
tree, he writes unclean upon all his parts and powers,
and performances. " For I know that in me (that
is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing." He dis-
covers the evils that he was never aware of, and sees
the blasphemy, and theft, and murder, and adultery
that are in his heart, of which before he was igno-
rant. Heretofore, he saw no form nor comeliness
in Christ, nor beauty, that he should desire him;
but now he finds the hidden treasure, and will sell
all to buy this field. Christ is the pearl he seeks;
sin the evil he loathes.

Now, according to this new light, the man is of
another mind, another judgment, than before he was.
Now God is all with him, he hath none in heaven,
nor in earth, like him, he truly prefers him, before
all the world; his favour is his life; the light of his
countenance is more than corn, or wine and oil; the
good that formerly he inquired after, and set his
heart upon. Now, let all the world be set on one
side, and God alone on the other; let the world
present herself to the soul (as when Satan would

109

have tempted our Saviour with her) in all the glory
of her kingdoms, yet the soul will not fall down and
worship her, but will prefer a naked, yea, a crucified,
persecuted, Christ before her : he " counts all things
but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus
Christ." Not but a hypocrite may come to yield a
generous assent to this, that God is the chief good;
yea, the wiser heathens (some few of them) have at
last stumbled upon this; but there is a difference be-
tween the absolute and comparative judgment of the
understanding. No hypocrite comes so far as to
look upon God as the most desirable and suitable
good to him, and thereupon to acquiesce in him.
This was the convert's voice: " The Lord is my
portion saith my soul: whom have I in heaven but
thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire
beside thee. God is the strength of my heart, and
my portion for ever."

Secondly, It turns the bias of the will both as to
means and end. 1. " The intentions of the will
are altered." " The desire of our soul is to thy
name, and to the remembrance of thee." Now the
man hath new ends and designs; now he intends
God above all, and desires and designs nothing in
all the world so much as " that Christ may be mag-
nified in him." He counts himself more happy in
this than in all that the earth could yield, that he
may be serviceable to Christ, and bring him glory in
his generation. This is the mark he aims at, that
the name of Jesus may be great in the world, and
that all the sheaves of his brethren may bow to his
sheaf.

110

Reader, dost thou view this, and never ask thy-
self whether it be thus with thee? Pause a while,
and breathe on this great concern.

2. The election is also changed; so that he
choo^eth another way. He pitcheth upon God as
his blessedness, and upon Christ, as the principal,
and holiness as the subordinate means to bring him
to God. He chooseth Jesus for his Lord. He is
not merely forced into Christ by the storm, nor doth
he take Christ for bare necessity; but he comes off
freely in the choice. This match is not made in a
fright, as with the terrified conscience, or dying sin-
ner, that will seemingly do any thing for Christ, but
doth only take Christ rather than hell; but he de-
liberately resolves that Christ is his best choice, and
would rather have him to choose than all the good
of this world, might he enjoy it while he would.
Again, he takes holiness for his path; he doth not
of mere necessity submit to it; but he likes and
loves it: "I have chosen the way of thy precepts."
He takes God's testimonies, not as his bondage,
" but as his heritage ; yea, heritage for ever." He
counts them not his burden, but his bliss; not his
cords, but his cordials. " For this is the love of
God, that we keep his commandments; and his com-
mandments are not grievous." He doth not only
bear, but takes up, Christ's yoke. No time passeth
so sweetly with him, when he is himself, as that he
spends in the exercises of holiness: these are both
his aliment and element, " desire of his eyes," and
" the joy of his heart." Put it to thy conscience,
as thou goest, whether thou art the man. O happy

Ill

man, if this be thy case ! But see thou be thorough
and impartial in the search.

Thirdly, It turns the bent of the affections.
These run all in a new channel : the Jordan is now
driven back, and the water runs upward, against its
natural course.

Christ is his hope. This is his prize. Here his
eye is; here his heart is. He is contented to cast
all overboard, (as the merchant in the storm ready
to perish,) so he may but keep this jewel.

The first of his desires is not after gold, but grace.
He hungers after it, he seeks it as silver, he digs for
it as for hid treasure: he had rather be gracious than
be great; he had rather be the holiest man on earth
than the most learned, the most famous, most pros-
perous. While carnal, he said, O if I were but
in great esteem, and rolled in wealth, and swimmed
in pleasure ! If my debts were paid, and I and mine
provided for, then I were a happy man ! but now the
tone is changed. O ! saith the convert, if I had but
my corruptions subdued, if 1 had "Such measures of
grace, such fellowship with God, though I were poor
and despised, I could not care; I should account my-
self a blessed man. Reader, is this the language of
thy soul?

His joys are changed. He rejoiceth " in the
ways of God's testimonies, as much as in all riches."
He delights in the law of the Lord, wherein once
he had little savour. He hath no such joy as in the
thoughts of Christ, the fruition of his company, the
prosperity of his people.

His cares are quite altered. He was once set

112

upon the world; and any scraps of by-time were
enough for his soul: now, all the cry is, " What
shall I do to be saved?" His great solicitude is
now to secure his soul. O! how would he bless
you, if you could but put him out of doubt of this !

His fears are not so much of suffering, but of
sinning. Once he was afraid of nothing so much
as the loss of his estate or esteem, the pleasure of
friends, the frowns of the great; nothing sounded
so terrible to him as pain, or poverty, or disgrace :
now, these are little to him, in comparison of God's
dishonour or displeasure. Flow warily doth he walk,
lest he should tread upon a snare ! He feareth
alway; he looks before and behind; he hath his
eye upon his heart, and is often watching lest he
should be overtaken with sin. It kills his heart to
think of losing God's favour; this he dreads as his
only undoing. No thought in the world doth pain
him so much as to think of parting with Christ.

His love runs a new course. My love was cru-
cified, (saith Ignatius,) that is, my Christ. " This
is my beloved," saith the spouse. How doth Au-
gustine often pour his love upon Christ ! " O eter-
nal blessedness!" &c.

He can find no words sweet enough, " Let me
see thee, O light of mine eyes : Come, O thou joy
of my spirit. Let me behold thee, O life of my
soul: O my God, my life, and the whole glory of
my soul."

His sorrows have now a new vent. The view of
his sins, the sight of a Christ crucified, that would
scarce stir him before, now how much do they affect
his heart !

113

His hatred boils, his anger burns against sin.
He hath no patience with himself; he calls himself
fool and beast, and thinks any name too good for
himself, when his indignation is stirred up against
sin. " So foolish was I, and ignorant ; I was as a
beast before thee."

Commune then with thine own heart, and attend

the common and general current of thine affection,

I whether it be towards God in Christ above all other

I concerns. Indeed, sudden and strong commotions

! of the affections and sensitive parts are oft-times

i found in hypocrites; especially where the natural

inclination leads thereunto: and, contrariwise, the

sanctified themselves are many times without sensible

stirring of the affections, where the temper is more

slow, dry, and dull. The great inquiry is, whether

I the judgment and will be unceasingly determined for

God, above all other good, real or apparent ; and, if

the affections do sincerely follow their choice and

conduct, though it be not so strongly and sensibly

as is to be desired, there is no doubt but the change

is saving.

• 2. Throughout the members. Those that were
before the instruments of sin, are now become the
holy vessels of Christ's living temple.

The eye that was once a wandering eye, a wan-
ton eye, a haughty, a covetous eye, is now employed
l(as Mary's) in weeping over its sins, in beholding
God in his works, in reading his words, in looking
up and down for objects of mercy, and opportunities
for his service.

The ear that was once open to Satan's call, and

114

did relish nothing so much as filthy, or at least
foolish, talk and the fool's laughter, is now open to
his discipline. It saith, " Speak, Lord, thy servant
heareth." It cries, with him, Veniat Vcrhiine Do-
mini, and waits for his words as the rain, and relish-
eth them more than the appointed food; *' than the
honey and the honey-comb."

The head, that was filled with worldly designs,
is now filled with other matters, and set on the study
of God's will; and the man occupies his head, not so
much about his gain, as about his duty. The
thoughts and cares that fill his head are principally
how he may please God and avoid sin.

His heart that was filled with earthly affections,
and carnal desires, is now become an altar of incense,
where the fire of divine love is ever kept in, and
whence the daily sacrifice of prayer and praise, and
sweet incense of holy desires and ejaculations, are
continually ascending.

The mouth is become a well of life, his tongue as
choice silver, and his lips feed many — now the salt of
grace has seasoned his speech, and eaten out the
corruption, and cleansed the mouth from its evil com-
munication, flattery, boasting, lying, swearing, back-
biting, that once came like the flashes that proceeded
from the hell that was in the heart. The throat,
that was once " an open sepulchre," now sends forth
the sweet breath of prayer and holy discourse, and
the man speaks in another tongue, in the language
of Canaan, and is never so well as when talking of
God and Christ, and the matters of another world.
His mouth bringeth wisdom ; his tongue is become

115

the silver trumpet of his Maker's praise, his glory
and the " best member that he hath."

Now, here you shall have the hypocrite halting.
He speaks, it may be, like an angel, but he hath a
covetous eye, or the gain of unrighteousness in his
hand; or the hand is white, but his heart is full of
rottenness, full of unmortified cares. It may be,
with Nebuchadnezzar's image, he hath a golden
head, a great deal of knowledge ; but he hath feet
of clay, his affections are worldly, he minds earthly
things, and his way and walk are sensual and carnal ;
you may trace him in his secret haunts, and his
footsteps will be found in some by-paths of sin ; the
work is not thorough with him.

CD

3. Throughout the motions, or the life and prac-
tice, the new man takes a new course. His " con-
versation is in heaven." No sooner doth Christ
call by effectual grace, than he straightway becomes
a " follower of him." When God hath given the
new heart, and written his law in his mind, he forth-
with " walks in his statutes, and keeps his judg-
ments."

Though sin may dwell (God knows, a wearisome
and unwelcome guest) in him, yet he hath *' no more
dominion over him." " He hath his fruit unto
holiness." And, though he makes many a blot,
yet " the law of life," and Jesus, is what he eyes as
his copy, and he hath an unfeigned respect to all
God's commandments, making conscience even of
i] little sins and little duties. His very infirmities,
which he cannot help though he would, are his soul's
burden, and are like the dust in a man's eye, which

116

though but little, yet is not a little troublesome. (O
man ! dost thou read this, and never turn in upon
thy soul by self-examination ?) The sincere convert
is not one man at church and another at home; he
is not a saint on his knees, and a cheat in his shop ;
he will not tithe mint and cummin, and neglect mercy
and judgment, and the weighty matters of the law;
he doth not pretend piety, and neglect morality, but
l^e turneth from all his sins, and keeps all God's
statutes, though not perfectly (except in desire and
endeavour) yet sincerely, not allowing himself in the
breach of any. Now he delights in the word, and
sets himself to prayer, and opens his hand, if able,
and draws out his soul to the hungry. " He break-
eth off his sins by righteousness, and his iniquities
by showing mercy to the poor," and hath " a good
conscience, willing in all things to live honestly,"
and to keep without offence toward God and man.

Here again you find the unsoundness of many
professors, that take themselves for good Christians,
they are partial in the law, and take up with the
light and easy duties of religion, but go not through
with the work. It may be you shall have them
exact in their words, punctual in their dealings, but
then they do not exercise themselves unto godli-
ness ; and, for examining themselves and governing
their hearts, to this they are strangers. You may
have them duly at the church : but, follow them to
their families, and there you shall see little but the
world minded ; or, if they attend to family duties,
follow them to their closets, and there you shall find
their souls are little looked after. It may be they

117

seem otherwise religious, but bridle not their tongues,
and so " all their religion is in vain." It may be they
come up to closet and family prayer: but, follow
them to their shops, and there you shall find them
in a trade of lying, or some covert way of deceit.
Thus the hypocrite goes throughout in the course
of his obedience. And thus much for the subject of
conversion.

6. The terms are etiher from which, or to which.

1. The terms from which we turn in this motion
of conversion are, sin, Satan, the world, and our own
righteousness.

First, Sin. When a man is converted, he is for
ever out with sin; yea, with all sin, but most of all
with his own sins, and especially with his bosom sin.
Sin is now the butt of his indignation. His sins
excite his sorrows. It is sin that pierces him and
wounds him; he feels it like a thorn in his side: he
groans and struggles under it, and not formally, but
feelingly cries out, " O wretched man !" He is not
impatient of any burden so much as of his sin. If
God should give him his choice, he would choose
any affliction, so he might be rid of sin.

Before conversion, he had light thoughts of sin ;
he cherished it in his bosom, as Uriah his lamb;
he nourished it up, and it grew up together with
him; it did eat, as it were, of his own meat, and
drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and
was to him as a daughter: but, when God opens
his eyes by conversion, he throws it away with ab-
horrence. When a man is savingly changed, he is
not only deeply convinced of the danger, but defile-

118

ment of sin : and, O ! how earnest is he with God
to be purified ! he loathes himself for his sins. He
runs to Christ, and casts himself into " the fountain
for sin and for unclcanness." If he fall, what a stir
is there to get all clean again ! He flies to the word,
and washes, and labours to cleanse himself from all
filthiness both of flesh and spirit: he abhors his once
beloved sin.

The sound convert is heartily engaged against
sin; he struggles with it, he wars against it: he is
too often foiled, but he will never yield the cause,
nor lay down the weapons, while he has breath in
his body; he will never give quiet possession; he
will make no peace; he will give no quarter; befalls
upon it, and is still disquieting it with continual
alarms. He can forgive his other enemies ; he can
pity them, and pray for them; but here he is im-
placable, here he is set upon revenge : he hunteth
as it were for the precious life; his eyes shall not
pity, his hand shall not spare, thought it be a right
hand or a right eye. Be it a gainful sin, most de-
lightful to his nature, or which gains him esteem
wdth carnal friends, yet he will rather relinquish his
gain, see his credit fall, or the flower of pleasure
wither in his hand, than he will allow himself in any
known way of sin. He will grant no indulgence ;
he will give no toleration ; he hates sin wherever he
meets it, and frowns upon it with this unwelcome sa-
lute, " Have I found thee, O mine enemy !"

Reader, hath conscience been at work while thou
hast been looking over these lines? Hast thou pon-
dered these things in thy heart ? Hast thou searched

119

the book within, to see if these things be so ? If
not, read it again, and make thy conscience speak
whether or not it be thus with thee.

Hast thou crucified thy flesh with its affections
and lusts ? and not only confessed, but forsaken,
thy sins, all sin in thy fervent desires, and the or-
dinary practice of every deliberate and wilful sin in
thy life ? If not, thou art yet unconverted. Doth
not conscience fly in thy face as thou readest, and
tell thee that thou livest in a way of lying for thy
advantage, that thou usest deceit in thy calHng,
that there is some secret way of wantonness that
thou livest in sin? why then do not deceive thyself;
thou art in the gall of bitterness, and bond of ini-
quity.

Doth not thy unbridled tongue, thy vile intem-
perance, thy wicked company, thy neglect of prayer,
of reading and hearing the word, now witness against
thee, and say, " we are thy works, and we will fol-
low thee ?" Or, if I have not hit thee rio-ht, doth
not the monitor within tell thee, there is such or
such a way as thou knowest to be evil, that yet for
some carnal respect thou dost tolerate thyself in,
and art willing to spare ? If this be thy case, thou
art to this day unregenerate, and must be changed
or condemned.

Secondly, Satan. Conversion binds the strong
man, spoils his armour, casts out his goods, " turns
men from the power of Satan unto God." Before,
the devil could no sooner invite the sinner to his
wicked company, sinful games and delights, but pre-
sently he followed, like an ox to the slaughter, and

1^0

a fool to the correction of tlie stocks ; as the bird
hasteth to the prey, and knoweth not that it is for
his life. No sooner could Satan bid him lie, but
presently he had it on his tongue. No sooner could
Satan offer a wanton object, but he was stung with
lust. The devil could do more with him than God
could : if the devil says, " avvay with these family-
duties," be sure they shall be rarely enough per-
formed in his house : if the devil says, " away with
this strictness, this preciseness," he will keep far
enough from it : if he tell him, " there is no need
of these closet-duties," he shall go from day to day,
and scarce perform them. But, since he is con-
verted, he serves another master, and takes quite
another course, he goes and comes at Christ's invi-
tation. Satan may sometimes catch his foot in a
trap, but he will no longer be a wiUing captive ; he
watches against the snares of Satan, and studies to
be acquainted with his devices ; he is very suspicious
of his plots, and is very jealous in what comes athwart
him, lest Satan should have some design upon him ;
he " wrestles against principalities and powers," he
entertains the messenger of Satan as men do the
messenger of death ; he keeps his eye upon his ene-
my, and watches in his duties, lest Satan should get
an advantage.

Thirdly, The world. Before a sound faith, a man
is overcome of the world : either he bows down to
mammon, or idolizes his reputation, or is a " lover
of pleasure more than a lover of God." Here is the
root of man's misery by the fall ; he is turned aside
to the creature instead of God, and gives that

121

esteem, confidence, and afFection, to the creature, that
is due to him alone.

O miserable man ! what a deformed monster hath
sin made thee! God made thee " little lower than
the angels;" sin, little better than the devils. The
world, that was formed to serve thee, is come to rule
thee, and the deceitful harlot hath bewitched thee
with her enchantments, and made thee bow down
and serve her.

But converting grace sets all in order again, and
puts God in the throne, and the world at his foot-
stool. Christ in the heart, and the world under the
feet. So Paul, " I am crucified to the world and
the world to me." Before this change, all the cry
was, "who will show us any worldly good?" but
now his language is, " Lord, lift thou up the light
of thy countenance upon me," and take the corn and
wine whoso will. Before, his heart's deliirht and
content were in the world; then the song was,
"soul, take thy ease, eat, drink, and be merry;
thou hast much goods laid up for many years;" But
now all this is withered, and there is no comeliness,
that we should desire it; and he says with the sWeet
Psalmist of Israel: "The Lord is the portion of my
inheritance; the lines are fallen to me in a fair place,
and I have a goodly heritage." He blesseth him-
self, and boasteth himself in God. Nothino- else
can give him content. He hath written "vanity
and vexation" upon all his worldly enjoyments,
" and loss and dung" upon all human excellencies.
He hath " life and immortality" now in his aim.
He seeks for grace and glory, and hath a crown in-
F

122

corruptible in pursuit. His heart is set in him to
seek the Lord. He first seeks "the kingdom of
heaven and the righteousness thereof," and religion
is no longer a matter by-the-by with him, but the
main of his care. Before, the world had the sway-
ing interest with him; he would do more for gain
than godliness, more to please his friend, or his flesh,
than to please the God that made him ; and God
must stand by till the world was first served: But
now all must stand by; he hates father, and mother,
and life, and all, in comparison of Christ. Well,
then, pause a little, and look within : Doth not this
nearly concern thee ? Thou pretendest for Christ,
but doth not the world sway thee? Dost thou not
take more real delight and content in the world than
in him ? Dost thou not find thyself better at ease
when the world goes to thy mind, and thou art en-
compassed with carnal delight, than when retired to
prayer and meditation in thy closet, or attending
upon God's word and worship? No surer evidence
of an unconverted state than to have the things of
the world uppermost in our aim, love, and estima-
tion.

With the sound convert, Christ has the supre-
macy. How dear is his name to him ! How pre-
cious is his favour ! The name of Jesus is engraven
on his heart, and lies as a " bundle of myrrh be-
tween his breasts." Honour is but air, and laugh-
ter is but madness, and Mammon is fallen like Dagon
before the ark, with hands and head broken off on
the thresliold, when once Christ is savingly revealed.
Here is the pearl of great price to the true convert;

V23

here is his treasure ; here is his hope. This is his
glory, " My beloved is mine, and I am his." O !
it is sweeter to him to be able to say, Christ is mine,
than if he could say, the kingdom is mine, the In-
dies are mine.

Fourthly, Your own righteousness. Before con-
version, man seeks to cover himself with his own fig-
leaves, and to make himself acceptable with his own
duties. He is apt to trust in himself, and set up his
own righteousness, and to reckon his counters for
gold, and not " submit to the righteousness of God."
But conversion changes his mind: now he counts his
own righteousness as fihhy rags. Now he is brought
to poverty of spirit, complains of and condemns him-
self, and all his inventory is "poor, and miserable,
and wretched, and blind, and naked." He sees a
world of iniquity in his holy things, and calls his
once-idolized righteousness but dross; and would not
for a thousand worlds be found in himself. Now
he begins to set a high price upon Christ's righ-
teousness; he sees the need of Christ, in every duty,
to justify his person, and justify his performances ;
he cannot live without him; he cannot pray without
him; Christ must go with him; or else he cannot
come into the presence of God; he leans upon the
hand of Christ, and so bovs^s himself in the house of
his God; he sets himself down for a lost undone man
without him; his life is hid in Christ, as the root of
a tree spreads in the earth, for stability and nutri-
ment. Before, the news of Christ was a stale and
vapid thing; but now how sweet is Christ! Au-
gustine could not relish his before so much-admired
F2

124

Cicero, because he could not find the name of
Christ: how pathetically cries he, " O most sweet,
most loving, most kind, most dear, most precious,
most desired, most lovely, most fair, &c." all in a
breath, when he speaks of and to Christ. In a
word, the voice of the convert is with the martyr,
" none but Christ."

The terms, which are either ultimate, or subordi-
nate, or mediate.

The ultimate is, God the Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost, whom the true convert takes as his all-suf-
ficient and eternal blessedness. A man is never
truly sanctified till his very heart be in truth set upon
God above all things, as his portion and chief good.
These are the natural breathings of a believer's
heart: " Thou art my portion. My soul shall make
her boast in the Lord. My expectation is from him ;
he only is my rock and my salvation; he is my de-
fence; in God is my salvation and glory; the rock
of my strength, and my refuge is in God."

Would you put it to an issue, whether you be
converted or not ? Now let thy soul and all that is
within thee attend.

Hast thou taken God for thy happiness? Where
doth the content of thy heart lie? Whence doth
thy choicest comfort come in? Come then, and,
with Abraham, lift up thine eyes eastward, and west-
ward, and northward, and southward, and look about
thee, what is it that thou wouldst have in heaven,
or on earth, to make thee happy? If God should
aive thee thy choice, as he did to Solomon, or
should say to thee, as Ahasuerus to Esther, " What

125

is thy petition, and what is thy request, and it shall
be granted thee ?" What wouldst thou ask? Go
into the gardens of pleasure, and gather all the fra-
grant flowers thence: Would these content thee?
Go to the treasures of Mammon ; suppose thou
mightest lade thyself as thou wouldst from hence.
Go to the towers, to the trophies of honour: what
thinkest thou of being a man of renown, and hav-
ing a name like the name of the great men of the
earth? Would any of these, all these suffice thee,
and make thee count thyself a happy man? If so,
then certainly thou art carnal and unconverted. If
not, go farther ; go into the divine excellencies,
the store of his mercies, the hiding of his power,
the depths unfathomable of his all-sufficiency: Doth
this suit thee best and please thee most? Dost thou
say, " It is good to be here?" " Here will I pitch;
here will I live, and die ?" Wilt thou let all the
world go rather than this? Then it is well between
God and thee? happy art thou, O man; happy art
thou that ever thou wast born: if a God can make
thee happy, thou must needs be happy; for thou
hast vouched the Lord to be thy God. Dost thou
say to Christ as he to us, " Thy Father shall be
my Father, and thy God be my God." Here is
the turning point : an unsound professor never takes
up his rest in God, but converting grace does the
work, and so cures the fatal misery of the fall, by
turning the heart from its idol to the living God.
Now, says the soul, " Lord, whither shall I go?
Thou hast the words of eternal life." Here he
centers, here he settles. O ! it is the entrance of

126

heaven to him, to see his interest in God. When
he discovers this, he saith, " return unto thy rest,
O my soul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with
thee." And it is even ready to breathe out Simeon's
song, " Lord, now lettest thou thy servant de-
part in peace," and saith, with Jacob, when his old
heart revived at the welcome tidings, " it is enough."
When he sees he hath a God in covenant to go to,
" this is all his salvation, and all his desire."

Man, is this thy case? hast thou experienced
this? why then "blessed art thou of the Lord;"
God hath been at work with thee; he hatli laid hold
on thy heart by the power of converting grace, or
else thou couldst never have done this.

The mediate term of conversion is either princi-
pal or less principal.

The principal is Christ, the only " mediator be-
tween God and man." His work is to bring us to
God. He is " the way to the Father," the only
plank on which we may escape, the only " door by
which we may enter." Conversion brings over the
soul to Christ to accept him, as the only means of
life, as the only way, " the only name given under
heaven." He looks not for salvation in any other
but him; nor in any other with him: but throws
himself on Christ alone.

Here, saith the convinced sinner, " I will ven-
ture: and, if I perish, I perish: If I die, I will die
here. But, Lord, suffer me not to perish under the
pitiful eye of thy mercy. Entreat me not to leave
thee, or to turn away from following after thee.
Here I will throw myself; if thou slay me, I will not
go from thy door."

127

Thus the poor soul doth venture on Christ, and
resolvedly adheres to him. Before conversion, the
man made light of Christ, minded his farm, friends,
merchandise, more than Christ, now Christ is to
him, as his necessary food, his daily hread, the life
of his heart, the staff of his life. His great design
is, " that Christ may be magnified in him." His
heart once said, as tlicn to the spouse, "what is
thy beloved more than another?" He found more
sweetness in his m^crry company, wicked games,
earthly delights, than in Christ. He took religion
for a fancy, and the talk of great enjoyments for an
idle dream : but now to him to live is Christ. He
sets light by all that he accounted precious, " for
the excellency of the knowledge of Christ."

All of Christ is accepted by the sincere convert:
He loves not only the wages, but the work of Christ,
not only the benefits, but the burden, of Christ ; he
takes up the commands of Christ; yea, and cross of
Christ.

The unsound closeth by halves with Christ — he
is all for the salvation of Christ, but he is not for
sanctification — he is for the privileges, but appro-
priates not the person, of Christ — he divides the
offices and benefits of Christ. This is an error in
the foundation. Whoso loveth life, let him beware
here; it is an undoing mistake of which you have
been often warned, and yet none more common.
Jesus is a sweet name: but men " love not the Lord
Jesus in " sinceiity." They will not have him as
God offers, " to be a Prince and a Saviour." They
divide what God hath joined, the King and the

1^8

Priest. Yea, they will not accept the salvation of
Christ as he intends it; they divide it here. Every
man is for salvation from suffering; but they desire
not to be saved from sinning; they would have their
lives saved, but withal would save their sins. Yea,
many divide here again; they would be content to
have some of their sins destroyed, but they cannot
leave the lap of Delilah, or divorce the beloved He-
rodias: they cannot be cruel to the right eye, or
without exceptions, without limitations, the right
hand. The Lord must pardon them in this thing.
O ! be carefully tender here : your souls be upon it.
The sound convert takes Christ wholly, and takes
him for all intents and purposes. He is willing to
have Christ upon any terms ; he is willing to have
the dominion of Christ, as well as deliverance by
Christ ; he saith, with Paul, '' Lord, what wilt thou
have me to do?" Any thing. Lord: he sends the
blank to Christ, to set down his own conditions.

The less principal is the laws, ordinances, and
ways of Christ. The heart that was once set against
these, and could not endure the strictness of these
bonds, the severity of these ways, now falls in love
with them, and chooses them as its rule and guide
for ever.

Four things, I observe, God doth work in every
sound convert, with reference to the laws and ways
of Christ, by which you may come to know your
state, if you will be faithful to your own souls, and
therefore keep your eyes upon your hearts as you
go along.

L The judgment is brought to approve of them,

129

and subscribe to them as most righteous, and most
reasonable. The mind is brought to like the ways
of God; and the corrupt prejudices that were once
against them, as unreasonable and intolerable, are
now removed. The understanding assents to them
all, as " holy, just, and good." How is David
taken up with the excellencies of God's laws ! How
doth he expatiate on their praises, both from their
inherent qualities and admirable effects.

There is a twofold judgment of the understand-
ing. The absolute judgment is, when a man thinks
such a course best in the general, but not for him,
or not under the present circumstances. Now, a
godly man's judgment is for the ways of God, and
that not only the absolute, but comparative, judg-
ment; he thinks them not only the best in general,
but best for him ; he looks upon the rules of reli-
gion not only as tolerable, but desirable; yea, more
desirable than gold, fine gold; " yea, much fine

gold."

His judgments are settledly determined, that it is
best to be holy, that it is best to be strict, that it is
in itself the most elio-ible course, and that it is for
him the wisest and most rational and desirable choice.
Hear the godly man's judgment: " I know, O Lord,
that thy judgments are right : I love thy command-
ments above gold, yea, above fine gold; I esteem all
thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and
I hate every false way." Mark, he did approve of
all that God required, and disallowed of all that he
forbade: " Righteous, O Lord, and upright are thy
judgments. Thy testimonies that thou hast com-
F3

130

mancled are righteous and very faithful. Thy word
is true from the beginning, and every one of thy
righteous judgments cndureth for ever." See how
readily and fully he subscribes; he declares his assent
and consent to it, and all and every thing therein
contained.

2. The desire of the heart is to know the whole
mind of Christ. He would not have one sin un-
discovered, nor be ignorant of one duty required.
It is the natural and earnest breathing of a sanctified
heart: " Lord, if there be any way of wickedness in
me, do thou discover it. What I know not, teach
thou me; and if I have done iniquity, I will do it
no more." The unsound is willingly ignorant, loves
not to come to the light. He is willing to keep
such or such a sin, and therefore is loath to know
it to be a sin, and will not let in the light at that
window. Now the gracious heart is willing to know
the whole latitude and compass of his Maker's law:
" Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and
I shall keep it unto the end." He receives with
all acceptation, the word, that convinceth him of any
duty that he knew not, or minded not before, or dis-
covereth any sin that lay hid before.

3. The free and resolved choice of the will is
determined for the ways of Christ, before all the
pleasures of sin and prosperities of the world. His
consent is not extorted by some extremity of anguish,
nor is it only a sudden and hasty resolve, but he is
deliberate in his purpose, and comes freely to the
choice. True, the flesh will rebel, yet tlic prevail-
ing part of his will is for Christ's laws and govern-

131

ment; so that he takes them not up as his toil or
burden, but his bliss. While the unsanctified goes
iu Christ's ways as iu chains and fetters, he doth it
naturally, and counts Christ's laws his liberty. He
willingly loves the beauties of holiness, and hath this
inseparable mark, " That he had rather, if he might
have his choice, live a strict and holy life, than the
most prosperous and flourishing life in the world."
" There went with Saul a band of men, whose hearts
God had touched." When God toucheth the
hearts of his chosen, they presently follow Christ
and, though drawn, do freely run after him, and
willingly offer themselves to the service of the Lord,
seeking him with their whole desire. Fear hath its
use; but this is not the main spring of motion with
a sanctified heart. Christ keeps not his subjects in
by force, but is king of a willing people. They are,
through his grace, freely resolved for his service,
and do it out of choice, not as slaves, but as the son
or spouse, from a spring of love, and a loyal mind.
In a word, the laws of Christ are the convert's love,
desire, delight, and continual study.

4. The bent of his course is directed to keep
God's statutes. It is the daily care of his life to
walk with God. He seeks great things, he hath
noble designs, though he fall too short. He aims
at nothing less than perfection; he desires it, he
reaches after it ; he would not rest in any pitch of
grace, till he w^ere quite rid of sin, and had perfect
holiness.

Here the hypocrite's rottenness may be discover-
ed. He desires holiness, as one well said, only as

132

a bridge to heaven, and inquires earnestly what is
the least that will serve his turn, and if he can get
but so much as may bring him to heaven, this is all
he cares for. But the sound convert desires holiness
for holiness* sake, and not only for heaven's sake.
He would not be satisfied )vith so much as might
save him from hell, but desires the highest pitch ;
yet desires are not enough. What is thy way and
thy course? Are the drift and scope of thy life
altered? Is holiness thy desire, and rehgion thy
business? If not, thou art short of sound conver-
sion.

Application, And is this, that we have described,
the conversion that is of absolute necessity to salva-
tion? Then be informed, 1. That strait is the gate,
and narrow the way, that leadeth unto life. 2. That
there are but few that find it. 3. That there is
need of a divine power savingly to convert a sinner
to Jesus Christ.

Again, then be exhorted, O man that readest,
to turn in upon thine own self. What saith con-
science? Doth it not begin to accuse? Doth it not
pain thee as thou goest? Is this thy judgment,
and this thy choice, and this thy way, that we have
described? If so, then it is well. But doth not thy
heart condemn thee, and tell thee there is such a sin
thou livest in against thy conscience ? Doth it not
tell thee there is such and such a secret way of wick-
edness that thou wishest to retain ? Such or such
a duty that thou makest no conscience of?

Doth not conscience carry thee to thy closet, and
tell thee how seldom prayer and reading are perform-

133

ed there ? Doth it not carry thee to thy family,
and show thee the charge of God, and the souls of
thy children and servants, that are neglected there?
Doth not conscience lead thee to thy shop, thy trade,
and tell thee of some mystery of iniquity there? Doth
it not carry thee to the ale-house, and condemn thee
for the loose company thou keepest there, the pre-
cious time thou misspendest there, for the talents of
God which thou throwest av/ay, for thy gaming, and
thy drinking? &c. Doth it not carry thee into thy
secret chamber, and severely accuse thee?

O conscience! do thy duty: in the name of the
living God, I command thee, discharge thine office ;
lay hold upon this sinner, fall upon him, arrest him,
apprehend him, undeceive him. What ! wilt thou
flatter and smooth him while he lives in his sins ?
Awake, O conscience ! what meanest thou, O sleep-
er ? What ! hast thou never a reproof in thy mouth?
W'^hat ! shall this soul die in his careless neglect of
God and eternity, and thou altogether hold thy
peace ? What ! shall he go on still in his trespasses,
and yet have peace ? O ! rouse up thyself, and do
thy work. Now let the preacher in thy bosom speak,
cry aloud, and spare not ; lift up thy voice like a
trumpet; let not the " blood of his soul'* be required
at thy hands.

134

CHAPTER III.

Of the Necessity of Conversion,

It may be you are ready to say, what meaneth this
stir ? and are apt to wonder why I follow you with
such earnestness, still ringing the same lesson in
your ears, " that you should repent, and be con-
verted." But I must say unto you, as Ruth to
Naomi, " entreat me not to leave you, nor to turn
from following after you." Were it a matter of
indifference, I would never make so much ado :
might you be saved as you are, I would gladly let
you alone. But would you not have me solicitous
for you, when I see you ready to perish ? As the
Lord liveth, before whom I am, I have not the least
hopes to see one of your faces in heaven, except you
be converted : I utterly despair of your salvation,
except you will be prevailed with to turn thoroughly,
and give up yourself to God in holiness and newness
of life. Hath God said, " except you be born
again, you cannot see the kingdom of God," and
yet do you wonder why your ministers do so plainly
travail in birth with you? Think it not strange
that I am earnest with you to follow after holiness,
and long to see the image of God upon you. Never
did any, nor shall any, enter into heaven by any
other way but this. The conversion described is not
the high attainment of some advanced Christians,
but every soul that is saved undergoeth this univer-
sal change.

135

It was a passage of the noble Roman, when he
was hasting with corn to the city in the famine, and
the mariners were loath to set sail in foul weather,
" Our voyage is more necessary than our lives."
What is it that thou dost count necessary? Is thy
bread necessary ? Is thy breath necessary ? Then
thy conversion is much more necessary. Indeed,
this is the one thing necessary. Thine estate is not
necessary; thou mayest sell all for " the pearl of
great price," and yet be a gainer by the purchase.
Thy life is not necessary; thou mayest part with it
for Christ to infinite advantage. Thine esteem is
not necessary ; thou mayest be reproached for the
name of Christ, and yet be happy ; yea, much more
happy in reproach than in repute. But thy con-
version is necessary ; thy damnation depends upon
it : and is it not needful, in so important a case, to
look about thee ? On this one point depends thy
making or marring to all eternity.

But I shall more particularly show the necessity
of conversion in five things ; for without this,

I. Thy being is in vain. Is it not a pity thou
shouldst be good for nothing, an unprofitable burden
on the earth, a wart or wen in the body of the uni-
verse? Thus thou art, whilst unconverted: for
thou canst not answer the end of thy being. Is it
not for the divine " pleasure that thou art and wast
created?" Did he not make thee for himself?
Art thou a man, and hast thou reason? Why,
then, bethink thyself why and whence thy being is.
Behold God's workmanship in thy body, and ask
thyself, to what end did God rear this fabric? Con-

I

136

sider the noble faculties of thy heaven-born soul.
To what end did God bestow these excellencies ?
Was it to no other than that thou shouldst please
thyself and gratify thy senses ? Did God send men
into the world, for no higher purpose, than like
swallows, only to gather a few sticks and mud, and
build their nests, and rear up their young, and then
away ? The very heathens could see farther than
this. Art thou so " fearfully and wonderfully
made," and dost thou not yet think with thyself,
surely it was for some noble and glorious end ?

O man ! set thy reason a little in its seat. Is it
not a pity such a goodly fabric should be raised in
vain ? Verily thou art in vain, except thou art for
God. Better thou hadst no being than not be for
him. Wouldst thou serve thy end ? thou must re-
pent and be converted: without this, thou art to no
purpose; yea, to bad purpose.

First, To no purpose. Man, unconverted, is
like a choice instrument that hath every string
broken or out of tune. The Spirit of the living
God must repair and tune it by the grace of regener-
ation, and sweetly move it by the power of actuating
grace, or else thy prayers will be only discordant
tones, and thy services will make no music in the
ears of the most Holy. All thy powers and facul-
ties are so corrupt in thy natural state, that, except
thou " be purged from dead works," thou canst not
" serve the living God."

An unsanctified man cannot work the work of
God. 1. He hath no skill in it; he is altogether
as unskilful in the work as in the word of ri<rhteous-

137

ness. There are great mysteries, as well in the
practices as principles of godhness. Now the un-
regenerate know not the " mysteries of the kingdom
of heaven." You may as well expect him that never
learned the alphabet, to read, or one that never set
his hand to an instrument, to perform with skill and
beauty, as that a natural man should do the Lord
any pleasing service. He must first be taught of
God, taught to pray, taught to profit, taught to go,
or else he will be utterly at a loss. 2. He hath no
strength for it. How weak is his heart ! he is pre-
sently tired. The Sabbath, " what a weariness is
it !" He is " without strength," yea, stark " dead
in sin." 3. He hath no mind to it; he desires not
the knowledge of God's ways, he doth not know
them, and he doth not care to know them, he knows
not, neither will he understand. 4. He hath nei-
ther due instruments nor materials for it. A man
may as well hew the marble without tools, or build
without materials, as perform any acceptable services
without the graces of the Spirit, which are both the
materials and instruments in the work. Alms -giv-
ing is not a service of God, but of vain-glory, if not
held forth by the hand of divine love. What is the
prayer of the lips without grace in the heart, but the
carcass without the life? What are all our confes-
sions, unless they be exercises of godly sorrow and
unfeigned repentance? What our petitions, unless
animated all along with holy desires and faith in the
divine attributes and promises ? What our praises
and thankssivino-s, unless from the love of God, and
a holy gratitude and sense of God's mercies in the

138

heart ? So that a man may as well expect the trees
should speak, or motion from the dead, as for any ser-
vice holy and acceptable to God from the unconverted.
When the tree is evil, how can the fruit be good?

Secondly, To bad purpose. The unconverted
soul is a very " cage of unclean birds," a sepulchre
full of " corruption and rottenness." O dreadful
case ! Dost thou not yet see a change to be need-
ful? Would it not have grieved one to have seen
the golden consecrated vessels of God's temple turned
into quaffing bowls of drunkenness, and polluted with
the idol's service? Was it such an abomination to
the Jews, when Antiochus set up the picture of a
swine at the entrance of the temple? How much
more abominable then would it have been to have
had the very temple itself turned into a stable or a
sty, and to have had the " holy of holies" served
like the house of Baal. This is the very case of
the unregenerate : all thy members are turned into
"instruments of unrighteousness," servants of Sa-
tan; and thy inmost heart into a receptacle of un-
deanness. You may see what kind of guests are
within, by what comes out; for " out of the heart
proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornica-
tions, thefts, false witness, blasphemies," &c. This
discovers what wickedness there is within,

O abuse insufferable ! to see a heaven-born soul
abased to such vileness ! to see the glory of God's
creation, the chief of the works of God, the Lord
of this lower world, eating husks with the prodigal.
Was it such a lamentation to see those that did feed
delicately sit desolate in the streets ; and the pre-

1.39

cious sons of Sion, comparable to fine gold, esteemed
as earthen pitchers? and is it not much more fearful
to see the only being that hath immortality in this
lower world, and carries the stamp of God, " become
as a vessel wherein there is no pleasure?" O in-
dignity intolerable ! Better thou wert dashed in a
tliousand pieces, than continue to be abased to so
vile a service.

II. Not only man, but the whole visible creation,
" is in vain without this." Beloved, God hath made
all the visible creatures in heaven and earth for the
service of man, and man only is the spokesman for
all the rest. Man is, in the world, like the tongue
to the body, which speaks for all the members. The
other creatures cannot praise their Maker, but by
dumb signs and hints to man, that he should speak
for them. Man is, as it were, the high priest of
God's creation, to " offer the sacrifice of praise" for
all his fellow-creatures. The Lord God expecteth a
tribute of praise from all his works. Now, all the
rest do bring in their tribute to man, and pay it by
his hand: so then, if a man be false, and faithless,
and selfish, God is wronged of all, and shall have no
active glory from his works.

O dreadful thought to think of! that God should
create such a world as this is, and lay out such infi-
nite power, and wisdom, and goodness, thereupon,
and all in vain ; and man should be guilty, at last,
of robbing and spoiling him of the glory of all ! O,
think of this ! While thou art unconverted, all the
offices of the creatures to thee are in vain; thy meat
nourishes thee in vain; the sun holds forth his light

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140

to thee in vain ; the stars, that serve thee in their
courses by their powerful, though hidden, influence,
do it in vain; thy clothes warm thee in vain; in a
word, the unwearied labour and continual travail of
the whole creation (as to thee) are in vain. The
service of all the creatures that drudge for thee, and
yield forth their strength unto thee, (that therewith
thou shouldst serve their Maker,) is all but lost la-
bour. Hence " the whole creation groaneth" un-
der the abuse of this unsanctified world, that pervert
them to the service of their lusts, quite contrary to
the very end of their being.

IIL Without this, thy religion is vain. All thy
religious performances will be but lost; for they can-
not please God, which are the very ends of religion.
Be thy services ever so specious, yet God " hath no
pleasure in them." Is not that man's case dreadful,
whose sacrifices are polluted, and whose prayers are
a breath of abomination ? Many, under convictions,
think they will set upon mending, and that a few
prayers and alms will salve all again ; but, alas, sirs !
while your hearts remain unsanctified, your desires
will not pass. How punctual was Jehu ! and yet all
was rejected, because his heart was not upright.
How blameless was Paul ! and yet being uncon-
verted, all was but loss. Men think they do much
in attending God's service, and are ready to set him
down so much their debtor, whereas, their persons
being unsanctified, their duties cannot be accepted.

O soul ! do not think, when thy sins pursue thee,
a little praying and reforming thy course will pacify
God. Thou must begin with thine heart: if that

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be not renewed, thou canst no more please God than
one that, having unspeakably offended thee, should
insult thee in order to pacify thee.

It is a great misery to labour in the fire. The
poets could not invent a worse hell for Sisyphus than
to be getting the stone still up the hill, and then
that it should presently fall down again and renew
his labour. God threatens it as the greatest of
temporal judgments, that they should build and not
inhabit, plant and not gather, and their labours
should be eaten up by strangers. Is it so great a
misery to lose our common labours, to sow in vain,
and build in vain? how much more to lose our pains
in religion; to pray, and hear, and fast in vain ! This
is an undoing and eternal loss! Be not deceived;
if thou goest on in thy sinful state, though thou
shouldst spread forth thy hands, God will hide his
eyes; " though thou make many prayers, he will
not hear." God will be worshipped after the due
order. If a servant do our work, but quite contrary
to our order, he shall have rather stripes than praise.
God's work must be done according to God's mind,
or he will not be pleased ; and this cannot be, ex-
cept it be done with a holy heart.

IV. Without this, thy hopes are in vain. " The
hypocrite's hope shall perish." " The Lord hath
rejected thy confidence."

First, The hope of comforts here is in vain. It
is not only necessary to the safety, but comfort, of
your condition, that you be converted. Without
this, " you shall not know peace." Without the
" fear of God" you cannot have the " comfort of the

142

Holy Ghost.'* God speaks peace only " to his peo-
ple and to his saints." If you have a false peace,
continuing in your sins, it is not of God's speaking,
and then you may guess the author. Sin is a real
sickness, yea, the worst of sickness : it is a leprosy
in the head, the plague of the heart ; it is brokcn-
ness in the bones, it pierceth, it woundeth, it rack-
eth, it tormenteth. A man may as well expect ease
when his distempers are in the full strength, or his
bones out of joint, as true comfort while in his sins.

O wretched man, that canst have no ease in this
case, but what comes from the deadHness of the dis-
ease ! You shall have the poor sick man saying,
in his hghtness, " he is well," when you see death
in his face; he would needs be up, and about his
business, when the very next step is like to be in his
grave. The unsanctified often see nothing amiss;
they think themselves whole, and cry not out for the
physician; but this shows the danger of their case.

Sin doth naturally create distempers and distur-
bances in the soul. What a continual tempest and
commotion is there in a discontented mind? what an
eating evil is inordinate care ? what is passion but a
very fever in the mind? what is lust but a fire in the
heart ? what is covetousness, but an insatiable and
insufferable thirst? or malice and envy, but venom in
the very heart? Spiritual sloth, is but a scurvy in
the mind, and carnal security a mortal lethargy; and
how can that soul have true comfort that is under so
many diseases ? But converting grace cures, and so
eases the mind ; prepares the soul for a settled,
standing, immortal peace : '* Great peace have they

143

that love thy commandments, and notliing shall of-
fend them." They are the ways of wisdom, that af-
ford pleasure and peace. David had infinitely more
pleasure in the word than in all the delights of his
court. The conscience cannot be truly pacified till
soundly purified. Cursed is that peace that is main-
tained in a way of sin. Two sorts of peace are
more to he dreaded than all the troubles in the world:
peace with sin, and peace in sin.

Secondly, Thy hopes of salvation hereafter are in
vain ; yea, worse than in vain ; they are most injuri-
ous to God, most pernicious to thyself. There is
death, desperation, blasphemy, in the bowels of this
hope. 1. There is death in it : thy confidence shall
be rooted out of thy tabernacles, (God will up with
it root and branch ;) " it shall bring them to the king
of terrors." Though thou mayest " lean upon this
house, it will not stand," but will prove like a ruin-
ous building, which, when a man trusts to, it falls
upon his head. 2. There is desperation in it: where
is the hope of the hypocrite when God takes away
his soul ? Then there is an end for ever of his hope.
Indeed, the hope of the righteous hath an end; but
then it is not a destructive, but a perfective end;
his hope ends in fruition, others in frustration. The
godly must say at death, " It is finished :" but the
wicked, " It is perished," and in too sad earnest be-
moan himself, as Job in a mistake, " Where is now
ray hope? He hath destroyed me; I am gone, and
my hope is removed like a tree." " The righteous
hath hope in his death." When nature is dying,
his hopes are living ; when his body is languishing,

144

his hopes arre flourishing : his hope is a living hope,
but others a dying, a damning, soul-undoing hope.
" When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall
perish ; and the hope of the unjust men perisheth."
It shall be cut off, and prove like a spider's web,
which he spins out of his own bowels; but then comes
death, with the broom, and takes down all, and so
there is an eternal end of his confidence wherein he
trusted ; " for the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and
their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost."
Wicked men are fixed in the carnal hope, and will
not be beaten out of it; they hold it fast; they will
not let it go : yea, but death will knock off their
fingers. Though we cannot undeceive them, death
and judgment will: when death strikes his dart
through thy liver, it will out with thy soul and thy
hopes together. The unsanctified have hope only
in this life, and therefore are " of all men most mi-
serable." W^hen death comes, it lets them out into
the amazing gulph of endless desperation. 3. There
is blasphemy in it. To hope we shall be saved,
though continuing unconverted, is to hope we shall
prove God a liar. He hath told you, that so mer-
ciful and pitiful as he is, he will never save you not-
withstanding, if you go on in ignorance, or a course
of unrighteousness. In a word, he hath told you,
that, whatever you be or do, nothing shall avail you
to salvation, without you become new creatures.
Now, to say God is merciful, and we hope will save
us nevertheless, is in effect to say, " Wc hope God
will not do as he says." We must not set God's
attributes at variance; God has resolved to glorify

145

his mercy, but not to the prejudice of truth, as the
presumptuous sinner will find to his everlasting sor-
row.

Object. Why, but we hope in Jesus Christ ; we
put our whole trust in God; and therefore doubt
not but we shall be saved.

Answ. 1. This is not hope in Christ, but against
Christ. To hope to see the kingdom of God with-
out being born again, to hope to find eternal life in
the broad way, is to hope Christ will prove a false
prophet. It is David's plea, " I hope in thy word."
But this hope is agamst the word. Show me a word
of Christ for thy hope, that he will save thee in thine
ignorance or profane neglect of his service, and I
will never go to shake thy confidence.

2. God doth with abhorrence reject this hope.
Those condemned in the prophet went on in their
sins, yet (saith the text) they will lean upon the
Lord, Mic. iii. 11. God will not endure to be
made a prop to men in their sins; the Lord rejected
those presumptuous sinners that went on still in their
trespasses, and yet " would stay themselves upon Is-
rael's God."

3. If thy hope be any thing worth, It will purify thee
from thy sins. " Every man that hath this hope in
him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." But cursed
is that hope which doth cherish men in their sins.

Object. Would you have us to despair ?

Ansiso. You must despair of ever coming to hea-
ven as you are, that is, while you remain uncon-
verted. You must despair of ever seeing the face
of God without holiness; but you must by no means
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146

despair of finding mercy, upon your thorough repent
ance and conversion; neither may you despair of at-
taining to repentance and conversion in the use of
God's means.

V. Without this, all that God hath done and
suffered will be as to you in vain, that is, it will no
way avail you to salvation. Many urge this as a
sufficient ground for their hopes, that Christ died for
sinners. But I must tell you, Christ never died to
save impenitent and unconverted sinners continu-
ing so. A great divine was wont, in his private
dealings with souls, to ask two questions: 1. What
hath Christ done for you ? 2. What hath Christ
wrought in you ? Without the application of the
Spirit in regeneration, we can have no saving inter-
est in the benefits of redemption. I tell you from
the Lord, Christ himself cannot save you, if you go
on in this state.

I. It were against his trust. The Mediator is
the " servant of the Father," shows his commission
from him, and acts in his name, and pleads his com-
mand for his justification; and God has committed
all things to him, intrusted his own glory and the
salvation of the elect w^ith him. Accordingly, Christ
gives his Father an account of both parts of his trust
before he leaves the world. Now Christ would quite
tarnish his Father's glory, his greatest trust, if he
should save men in their sins, for this were to over-
turn all his counsels, and to oflPer violence to all his
attributes.

First, To overturn all his counsels; of which this
is the order, that men should be brought " through

147

sanctification to salvation." He hath " chosen them,
that they should be holy." They are elected to
pardon and life through sanctification. If thou canst
repeal the law of God's immutable counsel, or cor-
rupt him whom the Father hath sealed, to go directly
against his commission, then, and not otherwise,
mayest thou get to heaven in this condition. To
hope that Christ will save thee, while unconverted,
is to hope that Christ will falsify his trust. He
never did nor will save one soul, but whom the Fa-
ther hath given him in election, and drawn to him
in effectual calling. Be assured that Christ will
save none in a way contrary to his Father's will.
Secondly, To offer violence to all his attributes.

1. To his justice: for the righteousness of God's
judgment lies in rendering to all " according to
their works." Now, should men sow to the flesh,
and yet " of the Spirit reap everlasting life," where
were the glory of divine justice, since it should be
given to the wicked according to the work of the
righteous?

2. To his holiness. If God should not only
save sinners, but save them in their sins, his most
pure and strict holiness would be exceedingly de-
faced. It would be offering the extremest vio-
lence to the infinite purity of the divine nature to
have sinners to dwell with him: " They cannot stand
his judgments; they cannot abide his presence." If
holy David would not endure such in his house, no,
nor in his sight, can we think God will ? Should
he take men as they are to the glory of heaven, the
world would think God were at no such distance

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148

from sin, nor had such clishke to it, as we are told
he hath; they would conclude God were altogether
such a one as themselves (as they wickedly did,
from the very forbearance of God, Psalm 1. 21.)

3. To his veracity: for God hath declared from
heaven, that, " if any shall say he shall have peace,
though he shall go on in the imagination of his
heart, his wrath shall smoke against that man."
That " they (only) that confess and forsake their
sins shall find mercy." That " they that shall en-
ter into his hill must be of clean hands and pure
heart." Where were God's truth, if, notwithstand-
ing all this, he should bring men to salvation with-
out conversion? O desperate sinner, that darest to
hope that Christ will make his Father a liar, and
nullify his word, to save thee !

4. To his wisdom: for this were to throw away
the choicest of mercies on them that would not value
them, nor were any way suited to them.

First, They would not value them; the unsanc-
tified sinner puts but little price upon God's great
salvation. He sets no more by Christ than the
whole by the physician. He prizes not his balm,
values not his cure, tramples upon his blood. Now,
would it stand with wisdom to force pardon and Hfe
upon those that would give him no thanks for them?
Will the all-wise God, when he hath forbidden us
to do it, throw his holy things to dogs, and his
pearls to swine, that would, as it were, but " turn
again and rend him?" This would make mercy to
be despised indeed. Wisdom requires that hfe be
given in a way suitable to God's honour, and that

149

God provide for the securing of his own glory as well
as man's felicity. It would be dishonourable to God
to bestow his choicest riches on them that have
more pleasure in their sins, than in the heavenly de-
lights that he doth offer. God would lose the praise
and glory of his grace, if he should cast it away upon
them that were not only unworthy, but unwilling.

Secondly, They arc no way suited to them. The
divine wisdom is seen in suiting things to each other,
the means to the end, the object to the faculty, the
quality of the gift to the capacity of the receiver.
Now, if Christ should bring the unregenerated sin-
ner to heaven, he could take no more fehcity there
than a beast would that you should bring into a
beautiful room, to the society of learned men, and a
well-furnished table; whereas the poor tlung had
much rather be grazing with his fellow-brutes.
Alas ! what should an unsanctified creature do in
heaven ? He could take no content there, because
nothing suits him ; the place doth not suit him ; he
would be but quite out of his element, as fish out of
water; the company doth not suit him. What
communion hath darkness with light ? Corruption
with perfection ? The employment doth not suit
him ; the anthems of heaven fit not his mouth, suit
not his ear. Spread thy table with delicacies before
a languishing patient, and it will be a very great of-
fence. Alas ! if the poor man think a sermon long,
and say, of a Sabbath-day, " what a weariness it
is !" how miserable would he think it, to be holden
to it to all eternity !

5. To his immutability, or else to his omnisciency

150

or omnipotency : for this is enacted in heaven, and
enrolled in the decree of the court above, that none
but the " pure in heart shall ever see God." This
is laid up with him, and sealed among his treasures.
Now, if Christ yet bring any to heaven unconverted,
either he must get them in without his father's
knowledge, (and then where is his omnisciency ?) or
against his will, (and then where were his omnipo-
tency ?) or he must change his will, and then where
were his immutability ?

Sinner, wilt thou not give up thy vain hope of be-
ing saved in this condition ? Saith Bildad, " shall
the earth be forsaken for thee ? or the rocks moved
out of their place ?" May I not much more reason
so with thee ? Shall the laws of heaven be reversed
for thee ? Shall the everlasting foundations be over-
turned for thee ? Shall Christ put out the eye of
his Father's omnisciency, or shorten the arm of his
eternal power, for thee? Shall divine justice be
violated for thee ? or the brightness of the glory of
his holiness be blemished for thee ? O ! the im-
possibility, absurdity, blasphemy, that are in such a
confidence. To think Christ will ever save thee in
this condition, is to make thy Saviour become a sin-
ner, and do more wrong to the infinite majesty than
all the wicked on earth, or devils in hell, ever did,
or could do; and yet wilt thou not give up such a

blasphemous hope?

II. Agahist his word. We need not say, " Who
shall ascend into heaven, to bring down Christ from
above? Or, who shall descend into the deep, to
bring up Christ from beneath? The word is nigh

151

us." Are you agreed that Christ shall end the
controversy ? Hear then his own words : " Except
you be converted, you shall in no wise enter into the
kingdom of heaven." " You must be born again."
" If I wash thee not, thou hast no part in me."
" Repent or perish." One word, one would think,
were enough from Christ ; but how often and ear-
nestly doth he reiterate it ! " Verily, verily, ex-
cept a man be born again, he shall not see the king-
dom of God." Yea, he doth not only assert, but
prove the necessity of the new birth. And wilt
thou yet believe thy own presumptuous confidence,
directed against Christ's words ? He must go quite
against the law of his kingdom, and rule of his judg-
ment, to save thee in this state.

III. Against his oath. He hath lifted up his
hand to heaven, he hath sworn, that those that re-
main in unbelief, and know not his ways, that is,
are ignorant of them, or disobedient to them, " shall
not enter into his rest." And wilt thou not yet be-
lieve, O sinner, that he is in earnest? Canst thou
hope he will be foresworn for thee ? The covenant
of grace is " confirmed by an oath," and sealed by
blood; but all must be made void, and another way
to heaven found out, if thou be saved, living and
dying unsanctified. God is come to his lowest and
last terms with man, and has condescended, as far as
in honour he could, and hath set up his pillars with a
ne plus ultra. Men cannot be saved, while uncon-
verted, except they could get another covenant made,
and the whole frame of the gospel, which was estab-
lished for ever with such dreadful solemnities, quite

152

altered. And would not they be distracted, to hope
they shall?

IV. Against his honour. God will so show his
love to the shiner, as withal to show his hatred to
sin : therefore " he that names the name of Jesus
must depart from iniquity," and deny all ungodli-
ness; and he that hath hope of life by Christ must
*' purify himself, as he is pure," otherwise Christ
would be thoui>ht a favourer of sin. The Lord Je-
sus would have all the world to know, that, though
he pardons sin, he will not protect it. If holy
David shall say, " depart from me all ye workers of
iniquity," and shall shut the doors against them,
shall not such much more expect it from Christ's
holiness? Would it be for his honour to have the
dogs at the table, or lodge the swine with his chil-
dren, or to have Abraham's bosom to be a nest of
vipers ?

V. Against his offices. God hath " exalted

o

him to be a Prince and a Saviour." He would act
against both, should he save men in their sins. It
is the office of a king, to be " a terror to evil-doers,
and a praise to them that do well." *' He is a
minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath on
him that doth evil." Now, should Christ favour
the ungodly, so continuing, and take those to reign
with him that " would not that he should reign
over them," this would be quite against his office;
he therefore reigns, that he may " put his enemies
under his feet." Now, should he lay them in his
bosom, he would frustrate the end of his regal power:
it belongs to Christ, as a king, to subdue the hearts.

I

153

and slay the lusts of his cliosen. What king would
take rebels in open hostility into his court? What
were this but to betray life, kingdom, govern-
ment, and all together ? If Christ be a king, he
must have honour, homage, subjection, &c. Now,
to save men, while in their natural enmity, were to
obscure his dignity, lose his authority, bring con-
tempt on his government, and sell his dear-bought
ricjhts for nought.

Again, as Christ would not be a Prince, so neither
a Saviour, if he should do this; for his salvation is
spiritual. He is " called Jesus, because he saves
his people from their sins," so that, should he save
them in their sins, he would be neither Lord nor
Jesus. To save men from the punishment, and not
from the power of sin, were to do his work by halves,
and be an imperfect Saviour. His office, as the de-
liverer, is, " to turn away ungodliness from Jacob."
" He is sent to bless men, in turning them from
their iniquities." " To make an end of sin," so
that he would destroy his own designs, and nullify
his offices, to save men abiding in their unconverted
state.

Application, Arise then ! What meanest thou,
O sleeper? Awake, O secure sinner! lest thou be
consumed in thine iniquities; say, as the lepers,
" If we sit here we shall die." Verily, it is not
more certain that thou art now out of hell, than that
thou shall speedily be in it, except thou repent and
be converted : there is but this one door for thee to
escape by. Arise then, O sluggard! and shake off
thine excuses: how long wilt thou slumber, " and
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154

fold thy hands to sleep ?'* There is an unchange-
able necessity of the change of thy condition, except
thou hast resolved to abide the worst of it, and try
it out with the Almighty. If thou lovest thy life,
O man, rise and come away. Methinks I see the
Lord Jesus laying the merciful liands of a holy vio-
lence upon thee; methinks he carries it like the
angels to Lot: " Then the angels hastened Lot,
saying, Arise, lest thou be consumed. And, while
he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, the
Lord being merciful unto him, and they brought
him without the city, and said, escape for thy life,
stay not in all the plains ; escape to the mountains,
lest thou be consumed."

O! how wilful will thy destruction be, if thou
shouldst yet harden thyself in thy sinful state ! But
none of you can say but you have had fair warning.
Yet, methinks, I cannot tell how to leave you so.
It is not enough for me to have delivered my own
soul. What ! shall I go away without my errand !
Will none of you arise and follow me ? Have I
been all this while speaking to the wind? Do I
speak to the trees, or rocks, or to men? to the tombs
or monuments of the dead, or to a living auditory?
If you be men, and not senseless stocks, stand still
and consider whither you are going: if you have the
reason and understanding of men, dare not to run
into the flames, and fall into hell with your eyes
open, but bethink yourselves, and set to the work of
repentance ! W^hat ! endowed with reason, and yet
trifle with death and hell, and the vengeance of the
Almighty ! O show yourselves men, and let reason

155

prevail with you. Is it a reasonable thing for you
to contend against the Lord your Maker? " to
harden yourselves against his word," as though the
strength of Israel would lie? Is it reasonable that
an understanding creature should lose, yea, live
quite against, the very end of his being ? Is it rea-
sonable that the only thing in this world that God
hath made capable of knowing his will, and bring-
ing him glory, should yet live in ignorance of his
Maker, and be unserviceable to his use, yea, should
be engaged against him. " Hear, O heavens, and
give ear, O earth," and let the creatures without
sense judge if this be reason, that man, whom
God hath nourished and brought up, should rebel
against him ! Judge in your ownselves: is it a rea-
sonable undertaking for briers and thorns to set
themselves in battle against a devouring fire? or for
the potsherd of the earth to strive with its Maker ?
You will say, " This is not reason;" or surely the
eye of reason is quite put out. And, if this be not
reason, then there is no reason, that " you should
continue as you are ;" but it is all the reason in the
world " you should forthwith turn and repent."

What shall I say? I could spend myself in this
argument. O ! that you would but hearken unto
me ! that you would presently set upon a new
course! Will you not be made clean ! When
shall it once be ! What ! will nobody be persuad-
ed? Reader, shall I prevail with thee for one?
Wilt thou sit down and consider the fore-mentioned
argument, and debate it, whether it be not best to
turn? Come, and let us reason together; is it

156

good for thee to be here? Wilt thou sit till the
tide come in upon thee ? Is it good for thee to try
whether God will be so good as his word, and to
harden thyself in a conceit that all is well with thee,
while thou remainest unsanctified ?

But I know you will not be persuaded, but the
greatest part will be as they have been, and do as
they have done. I know the drunkard will to his
drunkenness again, and the deceiver will to his de-
ceit again, and the licentious to his licentiousness
again. Alas ! that I must leave you vvhere you
were, in your ignorance, or in your lifeless formality
and customary devotions ! However, I will sit down
and bemoan my fruitless labours, and spend some
sighs over my perishing hearers.

O distracted sinners ! what will their end be ?
what will they do in the day of visitation ? " Whi-
ther will they flee for help, where will they leave
their glory?" How powerfully hath sin bewitched
them ! how effectually hath the God of this world
blinded them ! how strong is the delusion ! how un-
circumcised their ears ! how obdurate their hearts !
Satan hath them at his call ; but how long may I
call, and can get no answer ! I may dispute with
them year after year, and they will give me the
hearing, and that is all; they must and will have
their sins, say what I will : though I tell them there
is death in the cup, yet they will take it up; though
I tell them it is the broad way, and endeth in de-
struction, yet they will go on in it; I warn them,
yet cannot win them. Sometimes I think the mer-
cies of God will melt them, and his winning invita^-

157

tions will overcome them ; but I find them as they
were. Sometimes that the terror of the Lord will
persuade them ; yet neither will this do it. They
will approve the word, like tlie sermon, commend
tlie preacher; but they will yet live as they did.
They will not deny me, and yet they will not obey
me. They will flock to the word of God, and sit
before me as his people, and hear my words, but
they will not do them. They value and will plead
for ministers, and I am to them as the lovely song
of one that hath a pleasant voice, yet I cannot get
them to come under Christ's yoke. They love me,
and will be ready to say, they will do any thing for
me; but, for my life, I cannot persuade them to
leave their sins, to forego their evil company, their
intemperance, their unjust gains, &c. I cannot pre-
vail with them to set up prayer in their families and
closets, yet they will promise me, like the froward
son, that said, " I go, Sir, but went not." I cannot
persuade them to learn the principles of religion,
though else, " they would die without knowledge."
I tell them their misery, but they will not believe,
but it is well enough. If I tell them particularly,
1 fear, for such reasons, their state is bad, they will
judge me censorious ; or, if they be at present a little
awakened, they are quickly lulled asleep by Satan
again, and have lost the sense of all.

Alas ! for my poor hearers, must they perish at
last by hundreds, when ministers would so fain save
them? What course shall I use with them that I
have not tried? " What shall I do for the daughter
of ray people ?" " O Lord God, help ! Alas !

158

shall I leave them thus ? If they will not hear me,
yet do thou hear me. O ! that they may yet live
in thy sight! Lord, save them, or else they perish.
My heart would melt to see their houses on fire,
when they were fast asleep in their beds ; and shall
not my soul be moved within me, to see them falling
into endless perdition ? Lord, have compassion, and
save them out of the burning : put forth thy divine
power, and the work will be done ; but, as for me, I
cannot prevail,"

159

CHAPTER IV.

Shcnoing the Marks of the Unconverted.

While we keep aloof in generals, there is little
fruit to be expected : it is the hand fight that does
execution. David is not awakened by the prophet's
hovering at a distance in parabolical insinuations; he
is forced to close with him, and tell him plainly,
" Thou art the man." Few will in words deny the
necessity of the new birth, but they have a self-
deluding confidence that the work is not now to do.
And because they know themselves free from that
gross hypocrisy which takes up religion merely for a
colour, to deceive others, and for covering wicked
designs, they are confident of their sincerity, and
suspect not that more close hypocrisy, (wherein the
greatest danger lies,) by which a man deceiveth his
own soul. But man's deceitful heart is such a
matchless cheat and self-delusion, so reigning and so
fatal a disease, that I know not whether be the
greater, the difficulty or displacency, or the necessity
of the undeceiving work that I am now upon. Alas !
for my unconverted hearers! they must be unde-
ceived or undone. But how shall this be effected?

" Help, O all-searching light, and let thy discern-
ing eye discover the rotten foundation of the self-de-
ceiver ! and lead me, O Lord God, as thou didst the
prophets, into the chambers of imagery, and dig
through the wall of sinners* hearts, and discover the

160

hidden abominations that are lurking out of sight in
the dark. O ! send thy angel before me, to open
the sundry wards of their hearts as thou didst before
Peter, and make even the iron gates to fly open of
their own accord. And, as Jonathan no sooner tasted
the honey than his eyes were enhghtened, so grant,
O Lord, that, when the poor deceived souls, with
whom I have to do, shall cast their eyes upon these
lines, their minds may be illuminated, and their con-
sciences convinced and awakened, that they may see
with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and be
converted, and thou mayest heal them."

This must be premised, before we proceed to the
discovery, that it is most certain men may have a
confident persuasion that their hearts and states be
good, and yet be unsound. Plear the truth himself,
who shows, in Laodicea's case, that men may be
wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and
naked, and yet not know it; yea, they may be con-
fident " they are rich, and increased" in grace.
" There is a generation that are pure in their own
eyes, and yet are not washed from their filthiness."
Who better persuaded of his case than Paul, while
he yet remained unconverted? so that they are
miserably deceived that take a strong confidence for
a sufficient evidence. They, that have no better
proof than barely a strong persuasion that they are
converted, are certainly as yet strangers to conver-
sion.

But to come more close. As it vvas said to the
adherents of Antichrist, so here; some of the un-
converted carry their marks in their foreheads more

161

openly, and some in their hands more covertly. The
Apostle reckons up some, upon whom he writes the
sentence of death; as in these dreadful catalogues,
which I beseech you to attend to with all diligence.
" For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor un-
clean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater,
hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of
God. Let no man deceive you with vain words:
for, because of these things cometh the wrath of
God upon the children of disobedience.'^ " But the
fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and mur-
derers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idola-
ters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake
that burns with fire and brimstone: which is the
second death." " Know ye not that the unrighte-
ous shall not inherit the kingdom of God ? Be not
deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adul-
terers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with
mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards,
nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the king-
dom of God." Woe to them that have their names
written in these rolls ! Such may know, as certainly
as if God had told them from heaven, that they are
unsanctified; and under an impossibility of being
saved in this condition.

There are then these several sorts that (past all
dispute) are unconverted. They carry their marks
in their foreheads.

1. The Unclean, These are ever reckoned among
the goats, and have their names (whoever is left out)
in all the forementioned catalogues.

o

2. The Covetous, These are ever branded for

162

idolaters, and the doors of the kiDgdom are shut
against them by name, Ephes. v. 5.

3. Drunkards, Not only such as drink away
their reason, but withal (yea, above all) such as are
too strong for strong drink. The Lord fills his
mouth with woes against these, and declares them
to have no inheritance in the kingdom of God, Gal.
V. 21.

4. Liars. The God that cannot lie, has told
them, that there is no place for them in his kingdom,
no entrance into his hill; but their portion is with
the father of lies (whose children they are) in the
lake of burnings, Rev. xxi. 8, 27.

5. Swearers, The end of these, without deep
and speedy repentance, is swift destruction, and most
certain and unavoidable condemnation, Zech. v. 3.

6. Railers and backbiters, that love to take up
a reproach against their neighbour, or else wound
him secretly behind his back. Psalm xv. 1, 3.

7. TJiieves, extortionei^s, oppressors, that grind
the poor, over-reach their brethren when they have
them at an advantage. These must know that God
" is the avenger of all such." Hear, O ye false
and purloining and wasteful servants ! hear, O ye
deceitful tradesmen, hear your sentence ! God will
certainly hold his door against you, and turn your
treasures of unrighteousness into the treasures of
wrath, and make your ill-gotten silver and gold to
torment you, like burning metal in your bowels,
James v. 2, 3.

8. All that do ordinarily live in the profane neg-
lect of God^s worship, that hear not his word, that

163

call not on his name, that restrain prayer before God,
that mind not their own nor their family's souls, but
" live without God in the world."

9. Those that are frequenters and lovers of com-'
pany, God hath declared, he will be the destroyer
of all such, and that they " shall never enter into
the hill of his rest." Psalm xv. 4.

10. Scoffers at religion, that make a scorn of
precise walking, and mock at the messengers and
diligent servants of the Lord, and at their holy pro-
fession, and make themselves merry with the weak-
ness and failings of professors: " Hear ye despisers,"
hear your dreadful doom, " Judgments are prepared
for scorners, and stripes for the back of fools."

Sinner, consider diligently whether thou art not
to be found in one of these ranks; for if this be thy
case, thou art in the " gall of bitterness and bond
of iniquity:" for all these do carry their marks
in their foreheads, and are undoubtedly excluded
from the kingdom of heaven. And, if so, the
Lord pity our poor congregations ! O, how small
a number will be left, when these ten sorts are left
out! Sirs, what shift do you make to keep up
your confidence of your good state, when God from
heaven declares against you, and pronounces you
in a state of condemnation? I would reason with
you as God with them, " how canst thou say, I
am not polluted?" " See the way in the valley;
know what thou hast done." Man, is not thy con-
science privy to the tricks of deceit, to thy way of
lying? Yea, are not thy friends, thy family, thy
neighbours, witnesses to thy profane neglect of God's

1G4

worship, to thy covetous practices, to thy envious
and malicious carriage ? May not they point at
thee as thou goest; there goes a gaming prodigal;
there goes a drunken Nabal, a companion of evil-
doers ; there goes a railer, or a scoffer, or a licentious
person? Beloved, God hath written it as with a
sun-beam, in the book by which you must be judged,
that these are not the spots of his children, and that
none such, except renewed by converting grace, shall
ever escape the damnation of hell.

O that such as you would now be persuaded to
** repent, and turn from all your transgressions, or
else iniquity w411 be your ruin!" Alas! for poor
hardened sinners ! Must I leave you at last where
you were? However, you must know that you
have been warned, and that I am clear of your
blood; and, whether men will hear, or whether they
will forbear, I will leave these Scriptures with them,
either as thunder-bolts to awaken them, or as sear-
ing irons to harden them to a reprobate sense.
" God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the
hairy scalp of such a one as goeth on still in his
trespasses." " He that, being often reproved, har-
deneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and
that without remedy." " Because I have called,
and ye refused, I have stretched out my hand, and
no man regarded. I will mock at your calamity,
when your destruction cometh as a whirlwind !"

And now I imagine many will begin to bless them-
selves, and think all is well, because they cannot be
spotted with the grosser evils before mentioned; but
I must farther tell you, that there is another sort of
unsanctified persons that carry not their marks in

165

their foreheads, but more secretly and covertly, in
their hands: these do frequently deceive themselves
and others, and pass for good Christians, when they
are all the while unsound at heart. Many "pass un-
discovered, till death and judgment bring all to light.
Those self-deceivers seem to come even to heaven's
(Tate with confidence of their admission, and yet are
turned off at last. Brethren, beloved, I beseech
you deeply to lay to heart, and firmly retain this
awakening consideration, " that multitudes miscarry
by the hand of some secret sin, that is not only
hidden from others, but, for want of observing their
own hearts, even from themselves.'* A man may
be free from open pollutions, and yet die at last by
the fatal hand of some unobserved iniquity; and
there are these twelve hidden sins, through which
souls go down by numbers into the chambers of
death; these you must search carefully for, and take
them as marks (wherever they be found) discovering
a graceless and unconverted state; and, as you love
your lives, read carefully, with a holy jealousy of
yourselves, lest you should be the persons con-
cerned.

1. Gross ignorance. O, how many poor souls
doth this sin kill in the dark ! — " My people are de-
stroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast
rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee" — while
they think verily they have good hearts, and are in
the ready way to heaven. This is the murderer
that despatcheth thousands in a silent manner, when
(poor hearts!) they suspect nothing, and see not
the hand that injures them. You shall find, what-

166

ever excuses you have for ignorance, that it is a soul-
undoing evil: " For it is a people of no understand-
ing: therefore he that made them will not have mercy
on them, and he that formed them will show them
no favour." Ah ! w^ould it not have grieved a man's
heart to have seen that woeful spectacle, when the
" poor Protestants were shut up, a multitude to-
gether in a barn, and a butcher came, with his in-
human hands warmed in human blood, and led them
one by one, blindfold, to a block, where he slew
them (poor innocents !) one after another, by scores,
in cool blood ? But how much more should your
hearts bleed to think of the hundreds, in great con-
gregations, that ignorance doth kill in secret, and
lead blindfold to the block ! Beware this be none
of your case. Make no plea for ignorance; if you
spare that sin, know that it will not spare you ; and
would a man keep a murderer in his bosom ?

2. Secret reserves in closing mth Christ. To
forsake all for Christ, to hate father and mother, yea,
a man's own life, for him, " this is a hard saying."
Some will do much, but they will not be of the re-
ligion that will undo them; they never come to be
entirely devoted to Christ, nor fully to resign to him ;
they must have the sweet sin : they mean to do them-
selves no harm: they have secret exceptions for life,
liberty, or estate. Many take Christ thus, and never
consider his self-denying terms, nor cast up the cost;
and this error in the foundation mars all, and secretly
ruins them for ever.

3. Foi-mality in religion. Many rest in the out-
side of religion, and in the external performances of

167

holy duties. And this, oftentimes, doth most effec-
tually deceive men, and doth more certainly undo
them than open wickedness; as it was in the Pha-
risee's case. They hear, they fast, they pray, they
ffive alms, and therefore will not believe but their
case is good. Whereas, resting in the work done,

and cominor short of the heart-work and the inward

o

power and vitals of religion, they fall at last into the
burning, from the flattering hopes and confident per-
suasions of their being in the ready way to heaven.
O dreadful case, when a man's religion shall serve
only to harden him, and effectually to delude and
deceive his own soul !

4. The 'prevalence of false ends in holy duties.
This was the bane of the Pharisees. O, how many
a poor soul is undone by this, and drops into hell
before he discerns his mistake ! he performs " good
duties," and so thinks all is well, but perceives not
that he is actuated by carnal motives all the while.
It is too true, that, even with the truly sanctified,
many carnal ends will oft-times creep in; but they
are the matter of his hatred and humiliation, and
never come to be habitually prevalent with him, and
bear the greatest sway. But now, when the main
thing that doth ordinarily carry a man out to reli-
gious duties shall be really some cardinal end, as to *^<^^*^
satisfy his conscience, to get the repute of being re-
ligious, " to be seen of men," to show his own gifts
and parts, to avoid the reproach of a profane and ir-
religious person, or the like; this discovers an un-
sound heart. O Christian ! if you would avoid self-
deceit, see that you mind not only your acts, but
withal (yea above all) your ends.

168

5. Trusting in their own rigJiteousness. This is
a soul-undoing mischief. When men do trust in their
own righteousness, they do indeed reject Christ's.
Beloved, you had need be watchful on every hand ;
for, not only your sins, but your duties, may undo
you. It may be you never thought of this, but so
it is, that a man may as certainly miscarry by his
seeming righteousness and supposed graces as by
gross sins; and that is when a man doth trust to
these as his righteousness before God, for the satis-
fying his justice, appeasing his wrath, procuring his
fevour, and obtaining of his own pardon ; for this is
to put Christ out of office, and make a Saviour of
our own duties and graces. Beware of this, O pro-
fessors ! you are much in duties, but this one fly will
spoil all the ointment. When you have done most
and best, be sure go out of yourselves to Christ ;
reckon your own righteousness but rags.

6. A secret enmity against the strictness of reli-
gion. Many moral persons, punctual in their for-
mal devotions, have a bitter enmity against precise-
nessj and hate the life and power of religion. They
like not this forwardness, nor that men should keep
such a stir in religion; they condemn the strictness
of religion as singularity, indiscretion, and intem-
perate zeal; and with them a lively preacher, or lively
Christian, is but a heady fellow. These men love
not holiness as holiness, (for then they would love
the height of holiness,) and therefore are undoubt-
edly rotten at heart, whatever good opinion they have
of themselves.

7. The resting in a certain pitch of religion.

169

When they have so much as will save them, (as they
suppose,) they look do farther, and so show them-
selves short of true grace, which will ever put men
upon aspiring to farther perfection.

8. The predominant love of the "jDorld. This is
the sure evidence of an unsanctified heart. " If any
man love the world, the love of the Father is not in
him."

But how close doth this sin lurk oft-times under
the fair covert of forward profession ! Yea, such a
power of deceit is there in this sm, that many times,
when every hody else can see the man's worldliness
and covetousness, he cannot see it himself, but hath
so many colours, and excuses, and pretences, for his
eagerness on the world, that he doth blind his own
eyes, and perish in his self-deceit. How many pro-
fessors are there with whom the world hath more of
their hearts and affections than Christ, " who mind
earthly things," and thereby are evidently after the
flesh, and like to end in destruction ! Yet ask these
men, and they will tell you confidently, they prize
Christ above all; (God forbid else!) and see not
their own earthly mindedness, for want of a narrow
observation of the workings of their own hearts.
Did they but carefully search, they would quickly
find that their greatest content is in the world, and
their greatest care and main endeavour are to get
and secure the world; which are the certain disco-
veries of an unconverted sinner. May the profes-
sing part of the world take earnest heed that they
perish not by the hand of this sin unobserved. Men
may be, and often are, kept off from Christ as effec-
H

tually by the inordinate love of lawful comforts, as
by the most unlawful courses. " But they made
light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, and
another to his merchandise."

9. Reigning malice and envy against those that
disrespect them and are injurious to them. O !
how do many, that seem to be religious, remember
injuries and carry grudges, and will return men as
good as they bring, rendering evil for evil, loving to
take revenge, wishing evil to them that wrong them,
directly against the rule of the Gospel, the pattern
of Christ, and the nature of God. Doubtless,
where this evil is kept boiling in the heart, and is
not hated, resisted, mortified, but doth habitually
prevail, that person is in the very gall of bitterness,
and in a state of death.

Reader, doth nothing of this touch thee? Art
thou in none of the fore-mentioned ranks ? O search
and search again ; take thy heart solemnly to task.
Woe unto thee, if, after thy profession, thou shouldst
be found under the power of ignorance, lost in for-
mality, drowned in earthly mindedness, envenomed
with malice, exalted in an opinion of thine own
righteousness, leavened with hypocrisy and carnal
ends in God's service, imbittered against strictness;
this would be a sad discovery, that all thy religion
were in vain. But I must proceed.

10. Unmortified pride. When men love the
praise of men more than the praise of God, and set
their hearts upon men's esteem, applause, and appro-
bation, it is most certain that they are yet in their
sins, and strangers to true conversion. When men

171

see not, nor complain, nor groan under the pride of
their own hearts, it is a sign they are dead in sin.
O, how secretly doth this sin live and reign in many
hearts, and they know it not, but are very strangers
to themselves!

11. The pi^evailing love of pleasure. This is a
deep mark. When men give the flesh the liberty
that it craves, and pamper and please it, and do not
deny and restrain it ; when their great delight is in
pleasing their senses, whatever appearances they
may have of religion, all is unsound. A flesh-
pleasing life cannot be pleasing to God. " They
that are Christ's have crucified the flesh," and are
careful to cross it and keep it under, as their enemy.

12. Carnal security^ or a presumptuous confi-
dence that their condition is already good. Many
cry, peace and safety, when " sudden destruction is
coming upon them." This was that which kept the
foolish virgins sleeping when they should have been
at the market. They perceived not their want of
oil till the bridegroom was come; and, while they went
to buy, the door was shut. And, O ! that these
foolish vii-gins had no successors ! Where is the
place, yea, where is the house almost, where these
do not dwell? Men are willing to cherish in them-
selves, upon ever so light grounds, a hope that their
condition is good, and so look not out after a change,
and by these means perish in their sins. Are ye at
peace ? Show me upon what grounds your peace
is maintained. Is it Scripture peace ? Can you
show the distinguishing marks of a sound believer ?
Can you evidence that you have something more

H2

172

than any hypocrite in the world ever had ? If not,
fear this peace more than any trouble; and know-
that a carnal peace doth commonly prove the most
mortal enemy of the soul, and, whilst it smiles and
speaks it fair, doth fatally betray it.

By this time, I think I hear my readers crying
out with the disciples, " Who then shall be saved?"
Set out from among our congregations all those ten
ranks of the profane on the one hand, and then be-
sides take out all these twelve sorts of close and self-
deceiving hypocrites on the other, and then tell me
whether it be not a remnant that shall be saved ?
How few will be the sheep that shall be left, when
all these shall be separated and set among the goats !
For my part, of all my numerous hearers, I have no
hope to see any of them in heaven that are to be
found among these two-and- twenty sorts that are
here mentioned, except by sound conversion they
are brought into another condition.

Ajypltcatio?!. And now, conscience, do thy office;
speak out, and speak home, to him that heareth or
readeth these lines. If thou find any of these marks
upon him, thou must pronounce him utterly unclean.
Take not a lie into thy mouth; speak not peace to
him to whom God speaks no peace. Let not sense
bribe thee, or self-love blind thee. I summon thee,
from the court of heaven, to come and give in evi-
dence. As thou wilt answer it at thy peril, give in
a true report of the state and case of him that readeth
this book. Conscience, wilt thou altogether hold
thy peace at such a time as this ? "I adjure thee
by the living God that thou tell us the truth !" Is

17^

the man converted, or is he not? Doth he allow
himself in any way of sin, or doth he not ? Doth
he truly love, and please, and prize, and delight in
God above all other things, or not ? Come, put it
to an issue.

How long shall this soul live in uncertainty? O
conscience, bring in thy verdict. Is this man a new
man, or is he not ? Hath there passed a thorough
and mighty change upon him, or not ? When was
the time, or what were the means by which this
thorough change of the new birth was wrought in
his soul? Speak, conscience; or if thou canst not
tell the time and place, canst thou show Scripture
evidence that the work is done? Hath the man
been ever taken off from the false hopes, and false
peace, wherein he once trusted? Hath he been
deeply convinced of sin, and of his lost and undone
condition, and brought out of himself, to give up
himself enth-ely to Jesus Christ? or dost thou not
find him to this day under the power of ignorance
or profaneness ? Hast thou, not found on him the
gains of unrighteousness ? Dost thou not find him
a stranger to prayer, a neglecter of the word, a lover
af this present world? Speak plainly to all the
fore-mentioned particulars. Canst thou acquit this
man from being any of the two-and-tw«nty sorts
here described ? If he be found with any of them,
set him aside : his portion is not with the saints.
He must be converted and made a new creature, or
else he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Beloved, be not your own betrayers; do not de-
ceive your own hearts, nor set your hands to your

174

own ruin by a wilful blindness of yourselves. Set
up a tribunal in your own breasts : bring the word
and conscience together, " to the law and to the
testimony." Hear what the word concludes of your
states. O follow the search till you have found how
the case stands. Mistake here, and perish. And,
such is the treachery of the heart, the subtilty of the
tempter, and " the deceitfulness of sin," all con-
spire to flatter and deceive the poor soul; and withal
so common and easy it is to mistake, that it is a
thousand to one but you will be deceived unless you
be very careful, and thorough, and impartial, in the
inquiry into your spiritual condition. O, therefore,
weigh yourselves in the balance; come to the stan-
dard of the sanctuary; bring your coin to the touch-
stone. Satan is master of deceit ; he can draw to
the life: there is nothing but he can imitate. You
cannot wish for any grace, but he can fit you with a
counterfeit. Be jealous: trust not so much as your
own hearts. Run to God to search you and try
you, " to examine you and prove your reins." If
other helps suffice not to bring all to an issue, but
you are still at a loss, open your cases faithfully to
some godly and faithful minister. Rest not till you
have put the business of your eternal welfare out of
question. " O Searcher of hearts, put this soul
upon, and help him in, his search."

175

CHAPTER V.

Showing the Miseries of the Unconverted.

So unspeakably dreadful is the case of every un-
converted soul, that I have sometimes thought, if I
could but convince men that they are yet unregen-
erate, the work were done.

But I sadly experience, that such a spirit of sloth
and slumber possesseth the unsanctified, that, though
they be convinced that they are yet unconverted, yet
they oft-times carelessly sit still ; and what through
the indulgence of sensual pleasure, or hurry of
worldly business, or earthly cares and affections, the
voice of conscience is drowned, and men go no far-
ther than some cold wishes, and general purposes of
repenting and amending.

It is therefore of high necessity that I do not
only convince men that they are unconverted, but
that I also endeavour to bring them to a sense of the
fearful misery of this state.

But here I find myself a-ground at first putting
forth. What tongue can tell the heirs of hell suf-

o

ficiently of their misery, unless it were Dives' in that
flame ? Where is the ready writer, whose pen can
decipher their misery that are " without God in the
world?" This cannot fully be done, unless we know
the infinite ocean of that bliss of perfection which is
in that God, from which a state of sin doth exclude
men. " Who knoweth," saith Moses, " the power

176

of thine anger?" And how shall I tell men that
which I do not know? Yet so much we know as,
one would think, would shake the heart of that man
that had the least degree of spiritual life and sense.

But this is yet the greatest difficulty, that I am
to speak to them that are without sense. Alas !
this is not the least part of man's misery, that he is
dead — " dead, in trespasses and sins."

Could I bring paradise into view, or represent the
kingdom of heaven to as much advantage as the
tempter did the kingdoms of the world, and all the
glory thereof, to our Saviour; or could I uncover
the face of the deep and devouring gulf of Tophet,
in all its terrors, and open the gates of the eternal
prison; alas! he hath no eyes to see it. Could I
paint out the beauties of holiness, or glory of the
gospel, to the life; or could I bring above-board
the more than diabolical deformity of sin; he can no
more judge of the loveliness and beauty of the one,
and the hatefulness of the other, than the blind man
of colours. He is " alienated from the life of God
through the ignorance that is in him," because of
the blindness of his heart. He neither doth nor
can know " the things of God, because they are
spiritually discerned." His eyes cannot be savingly
opened but by converting grace. He is a child of
darkness, " and walks in darkness:" yea, the light
in him is darkness.

Shall I read his sentence, or sound in his ear the
terrible trump of God's judgments, that one would
think should make both his ears to tingle, and strike
him into Belshazzar's fit, even to appal his counte-

177

nance, and loose his joints, and make his knees smite
one against another? Yet, alas ! he perceives me
not; he hath no ears to hear. Or shall I call up
tlie daughters of music, and sing the song of Moses
and of the Lamb? Yet he will not be stirred.
Shall I allure him with tlie joyful sound, and glad
tidings of the gospel? with the most sweet and in-
viting calls, comforts, cordials, of the divine promises,
so exceedingly great and precious ? It will not affect
him savingly, unless I could find him ears, as well
as tell him the news.

Wliat then shall I do ? Alas ! dead sinners are
like the dumb idols ; " they have mouths, but they
speak not ; eyes have they, but they see not ; they
have ears, but they hear not; noses have they, but
they smell not; they have hands, but they handle
not; feet have they, but they walk not; neither
speak they through their throat" — they are desti-
tute of spiritual sense and motion.

But let me try the sense that doth last leave us,
and draw the sword of the word ; yea, lay at him
while I will; yea, though I choose mine arrows out
of God's quiver, and direct them to the heart, never-
theless he feeleth it not : for how should he, being
past feeling? So that, though "the wrath of God
abideth on him," and the mountainous weight of so
many thousand sins, yet he goes up and down as
light as if nothing ailed him. In a word, he carries
a dead soul in a living body.

Which way, then, shall I come at the miserable

objects that I have to deal with ? Who shall make

the heart of stone to relent ? or the lifeless carcase
H3

178

to feel and move ? That God that is ahle of " stone
to raise up children unto Abraham;" that " raiseth
the dead," and " melteth the mountains," and
" strikes water out of the flints;" that loves to work
like himself, beyond the hopes and belief of man;
that peopleth his church with dry bones — he is able
to do this. Therefore, " I bow my knee to the
Most High God," and as our Saviour prayed at the
sepulchre of Lazarus, and the Shunamite ran to the
man of God for her dead child, so doth your mourn-
ing minister carry you in the arms of prayer to that
God in whom your help is found.

" O thou all-powerful Jehovah, that worketh
and none can let thee ! that hast the keys of death
and hell; pity thou the dead souls that lie here
entombed, and roll away the grave-stone, and say,
as to Lazarus when already dead. Come forth.
Lighten thou this darkness, O inaccessible light !
and let the day spring from on high visit the dark
regions of the dead, to whom I speak; for thou canst
open the eye that death itself hath closed; thou,
that formedst the ear, canst restore the hearing:
say thou to these ears, Ephphatha, and they shall
be opened. Give thou eyes to see thine excellencies,
a taste that may relish thy sweetness, a scent that
may savour thy ointment, a feeling that may discern
the privilege of thy favour, the burden of thy wrath,
the intolerable weight of unpardoned sin, and give
thy servants order to prophesy on the dry bones,
and let the effects of this prophesy be as of thy pro-
phet, when he prophesied the valley of dry bones
into a living army exceeding great." " The hand

179

of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the
Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of
the valley which was full of bones. He said to me,
Prophesy on these bones, and say to them, O ye dry
bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the
Lord unto these bones, Behold I will cause breath
to enter into you, and ye shall live : and I will lay
sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh on you, and
cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you
shall live ; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I pro-
phesied, there was a noise and a shaking, and the
bones came together, bone to his bone. And, when
I beheld, lo ! the sinews and flesh came up on them,
and the skin covered them above, but there was no
breath in them. Then said he unto me. Prophesy
unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the
wind, Thus saith the Lord God, come from the four
winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that
they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded
me, and' the breath came into them, and they lived,
and stood upon their feet, an exceeding great army."
But I must proceed, as I am able, to unfold that mys-
tery, which, I confess, no tongue can unfold, no heart
can sufficiently comprehend. Know therefore that,
while thou art unconverted,

I. The Infinite God is engaged against thee.
It is no small part of thy misery that thou art
" without God." How doth Micah run crying
after the Danites, " You have taken away my gods,
and what have I more ?' O what a mourning then
must thou lift up, that art without God, that canst
lay no claim to him without daring usurpation!

180

to

Thou mayest say of God, as Sheba of David, " we
have no part in David, neither have we inheritance
in the son of Jesse." How pitiful and piercing a
moan is that of Saul in his extremity ! " The Phili-
stines are upon me, and God is departed from me !"
Sinners, but what will you do in the day of your
visitation? Whither will you flee for help? Where
will you leave your glory ? What will you do when
the Philistines are upon you ; when the world shall
take its eternal leave of you ; when you must bid
your friends, houses, and lands, farewell for ever-
more ? What will you do then, I say, that have
never a God to go to ? Will you call on him ?
Will you cry to him ? Alas, he will not own you,
he will not take any notice of you, but send you
packing with an " I never knew you." They that
know what it is to have a God to go to, a God to
live upon, they know a little what a fearful misery
it is to be without God. This made that holy man
cry out, " Let me have a God, or nothing; let
me know him, and his will, and what will please
him, and how I may come to enjoy him, or would
I had never had an understanding to know any
thing !"

But thou art not only without God, but God is
" against thee." O ! if God would but stand neu-
ter, though he did not own nor help the poor sinner,
his case were not so deeply miserable, though God
should give up the poor creature to the will of his
enemies, to do their worst with him : though he
should deliver him over to the tormentors, yet this
were not half so fearful. But God will set himself
against the sinner; and, believe it, it is a fearful

181

" thing to fall into the hands of the living God/'
There is no friend like him, no enemy like him. As
much as heaven is above the earth, omnipotence
above impotence, so much more terrible it is to fall
into the hands of the living God, than into the
power of devils. God himself will be thy tormentor ;
thy destruction shall come " from the presence of
the Lord." Tophet is deep and large, and the
wrath of the Lord, like a river of brimstone, doth
kindle it. " If God be against thee, who shall be
for thee ? If one man sin against another, they
judge him : but if a man sin against the Lord, who
shall entreat for him ?" " Thou, even thou, art to
be feared ; and who shall stand in thy sight when
once thou art angry ?" " Who is that god that
shall deliver you out of his hands ?" Can mammon ?
" riches profit not in the day of wrath." Can kings
or warriors ? No : " They shall cry to the moun-
tains and rocks to fall on them and hide them from
the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from
the wrath of the Lamb ; for the great day of his
wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand ?"

Sinner ! I think this should go like a dagger to
thy heart, to know that God is thine enemy. O !
whither wilt thou go ? where wilt thou shelter thee ?
There is no hope for thee, unless thou lay down thy
weapons, and sue out thy pardon, and get Christ to
stand thy friend, and make thy peace. If it were
not for this, thou mightest pine in sorrow and
horrible despair ; but in Christ there is a possibility
of mercy for thee, yea, a proffer of mercy to thee,
that thou mayest have God more for thee than he is

182

now against thee : but if thou wilt not forsake thy
sins, nor turn thoroughly and to some purpose to
God, by a sound conversion, the wrath of God abid-
eth on thee, and he proclaimeth himself to be against
thee, as in the prophet. " Therefore thus saith the
Lord God, behold I, even I, am against thee !"

1. His face is against thee, " The face of the
Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the
remembrance of them." Woe unto them whom
God shall set his face ajrainst ! When he did but
look on the host of the Egyptians, how terrible was
the consequence ! " I will set my face against that
man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and
will cut him off from the midst of my people, and
you shall know that I am the Lord."

2. His heart is against thee. He hateth all

the workers of iniquity. Man, doth not thy heart

tremble to think of thy being an object of God's

hatred? Though Moses and Samuel " stood be-
es

fore me, yet my mind could not be towards this
people : cast them out of my sight." " My soul
loathed them, and their souls also abhorred me."

3. His hand is against thee. All his attri-
butes are against thee.

First, His justice is like a Jlaming sword un^
sheathed against thee: " If I whet my glittering
sword, and my hand take hold on judgment, I will
render vengeance to mine adversaries, and will re-
ward them that hate me; and I will make mine ar-
rows drunk with blood."

So exact is justice, that it " will by no means
clear the guilty." God will not discharge thee,

183

" he will not hold thee guiltless," but will require
the whole debt in person of thee, unless thou canst
make a scripture claim to Christ, and his satisfaction.
When the enlightened sinner looks on justice, and
sees the balance in which he must be weighed, and
the sword by which he must be executed, he feels
an earthquake in his breast: but Satan keeps this
out of sight, and persuades the soul, while he can,
that the Lord is all made up of mercy, and so lulls
it asleep in sin. Divine justice is very strict; it
must have satisfaction to the utmost farthinfj ; it de-
nounceth " indignation and wrath, tribulation and
anguish, to every soul that doeth evil." It curseth
" every one that continueth not in every thing that
is written in the law, to do it." The justice of God
to tlie unpardoned sinner, that hath a sense of his
guilt, is more terrible than the sight of the judge
and bench to the robber, or of the irons and gibbet
to the guilty murderer. When justice sits upon
life and death, O what dreadful work doth it make
to the wretched sinner ! " Bind him hand and
foot; cast him into outer darkness; there shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth." " Depart from
me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire." This is the
terrible sentence that justice pronounceth. Why,
sinner, by this severe justice must thou be tried;
and as God liveth, this killinfj sentence shalt thou
hear, unless thou repent and be converted."

Secondly, The holiness of God is full of anti-
pathy against thee. He is not only angry with
thee, (so he may be with his own children,) but he
hath a fixed, rooted, habitual, displeasure against

184^

thee ; God's nature is infinitely contrary to sin, and
so he cannot but hate a sinner out of Christ.

O what misery is this, to be out of the favour,
yea, under the hatred of God ! that God, who can
as easily lay aside his nature, and cease to be God,
as not be contrary to thee and detest thee, except
thou be changed and renewed by grace. O sinner,
how darest thou to think of the bright and radiant
sun of purity, or the beauties, the glory, of holiness,
that is in God? " The stars are not pure in his
sight." " He humbles himself to behold things
that are done in heaven." And hast thou no in-
terest in Christ neither, that he should plead for
thee; I think he should hear thee crying out, aston-
ished, with the Bethshemites, " Who shall stand
before this Lord God?"

Thirdly, The power of God is against thee.
The glory of God's power is to be displayed in the
wonderful confusion and destruction of them " that
obey not the gospel." He will *' make his power
known in them;" how mightily he can torment
them: for this end he raiseth them up, " that he
might make his power known." O man, art thou
able to make thy party good with thy Maker ?

Sinner, the " power of God's anger" is against
thee, and power and anger together make fearful
work; it were better thou hadst all the world in
arms against thee, than to have the power of God
against thee. There is no escaping his hands,
no breaking his prison. " The thunder of his power
who can withstand?" Unhappy man, that shall un-
derstand it by feeling it ! " If he will contend with

185

him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand. He
is wise in heart, and mighty in strength; who hath
hardened himself against him, and prospered? which
removeth the mountains, and they know it not;
which overturneth them in his anger ; which shaketh
the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof
tremhle; which commanded the sun, and it riseth
not, and sealeth up the stars! Behold, he taketh
away, who can hinder him? Who will say unto
him. What doest thou? If God will not withdraw
his anger, the proud helpers do stoop under him."
And art thou a fit match for such an antagonist?
" Oh ! consider this, you that forget God, lest he
tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver
you." Submit to mercy; let not dust and stubble
stand out against the Almighty; set not briers and
thorns in battle, lest he go through them, and con-
sume them together; but lay hold on his strength
that you may " make peace with him." " Woe to
him that striveth with his Maker !"

Fourthly, The "wisdom of God is set to rmn thee.
He hath ordained his arrows, and prepared instru-
ments of death, and made all things ready. His
counsels are against thee to contrive thy destruction.
" The Lord shall laugh at him, for he seeth that
the day is coming." He sees how thou wilt come
down mightily in a moment; how thou wilt gnash
thy teeth, for anguish and astonishment of heart,
when thou seest thou art fallen remedilessly into the
pit of destruction.

Fifthly, The truth of God is s'woni against thee.
If he be true and faithful, thou must perish if thou

186

goest on. Unless he be false of his word, thou
must die except thou repent. If we believe not,
yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
That is, he is faithful to his threatenings, as well
as promises, and will show his faithfulness in our
confusion, if we believe not. God hath told thee,
as plain as it can be spoken, that " if he wash thee
not, thou hast no part in him" — that, " if thou
livest after the flesh, thou shalt die" — that, " ex-
cept thou be converted, thou shalt in no wise enter
into the kingdom of heaven:" and he abideth faith-
ful; he cannot deny himself. Beloved, as the im-
mutable faithfulness of God in his promise and oath
aflPords believers strong consolation, so they are to
unbelievers for strong consternation and confusion.
O sinner, tell me, what shift dost thou make to
think of all the threatenings of God's word, that
stand upon record against thee ? Dost thou believe
they are truth or not? if not, thou art a wretched
infidel, and not a Christian; and therefore, give over
the name and hopes of a Christian. But, if thou
dost believe them, O heart of adamant that thou
hast, that canst walk up and down in quiet, when
the truth and faithfulness of God are enfjaffed to
destroy thee ! so that, if the Almighty can do it,
thou shalt surely perish. Why, man, the whole
" book of God" doth testify against thee, while
thou remainest unsanctified: it condemns thee in
every leaf, and is to thee like Ezekiel's roll, written
within and without with " lamentation, and mourn-
ing, and woe." And all this shall surely come upon
thee and overtake thee, except thou repent. " Heaven

187

and earth shall pass away, but one jot or tittle of
this word shall never pass away."

Now, put all this together, and tell me if the case
of the unconverted be not deplorably miserable. As
we read of some persons, that had bound themselves
in an oath, and in a curse, to kill Paul, so thou
must know, O sinner, to thy terror, that all the at-
tributes of an infinite God are bound in an oath to
destroy thee. O man, what wilt thou do? whither
wilt thou flee? If God's omniscience can find thee,
thou shalt not escape: if the true and faithful God
will save his oath, perish thou must, except thou
believe and repent : if the Almighty hath power to
torment thee, thou shalt be perfectly miserable in
soul and body to all eternity, unless it be prevented
by speedy conversion.

II. The 'ischole creation of God is against thee.
" The whole creation," saith Paul, " groaneth and
travaileth in pain." But what is it that the creation
groaneth under? why, the fearful abuse that it is
subject to, in serving the lust of unsanctified men.
And what is it that the creation groaneth for ? why,
for freedom and liberty from this abuse, for th^
" creature is very unwillingly subject to this bond-
age." If the unreasonable and inanimate creatures
had speech and reason, they would cry out under it
as a bondage unsufferable, to be abused by the un-
godly, contrary to their natures and the ends that
the great Creator made them for. It is a passage of
an eminent divine, " The liquor that the drunkard
drinketh, if it had reason as well as a man to know
how shamefully it is abused and spoiled, it would

188

groan in the cup against him, groan in his throat,
in his belly, against him. And, if God should open
the mouths of his creatures, as he did the mouth of
Balaam's ass, the proud man's garment on his back
would groan against him. There is never a crea-
ture, but, if it had reason to know how it is abused
till a man be converted, v/ould groan against him ;
the land would groan to bear him; the air would
groan to give him breathing; their houses would
groan to lodge them; their beds would groan to ease
them, their food to nourish them, their clothes to
cover them, and the creature would groan to give
them any help and comfort, so long as they live in
sin against God." Thus far he.

I think this should be a terror to an unconverted
soul, to think he is a burden to the creation: " Cut
it down; why cumbereth it the ground!" If the
poor inanimate creatures could but speak, they would
say to the ungodly, as Moses to Israel, " Must we
fetch you water out of the rock, ye rebels?" " Thy
food would say. Lord, must I nourish such a wretch
as this, and yield forth my strength for him to dis-
honour thee withal? The very air would say. Lord,
must I give this man breath to set his tongue against
heaven, and scorn thy people, and vent out oaths
and blasphemy against thee? His poor beast would
say. Lord, must I carry him upon his wicked de-
sign?" A wicked man! the earth groans under
him, and hell groans for him, till death satisfies both.
While the Lord of Hosts is against thee, be sure
the Host of the Lord is against tliee, and all the
creatures, as it were, up in arms, till, upon a man's

189

conversion, the controversy being taken up between
God and him, he makes a covenant of peace with the
creature for him.

III. The roaring lion hath his full poxver iqxm
thee. Thou art fast to the paw of the lion that is
greedy to devour; in " the snare of the devil, led
captive by him at his will." This is the " spirit
that worketh in the children of disobedience." He is
the " ruler of the darkness of this world," that is,
of ignorant sinners that live in darkness. You pity
the poor Indians that worship the devil for their
God, but little think it is your own case. Why, it
is the common misery of all the unsanctified, that
the devil is their God. Not that they do intend to
do him homage and worship; they will be ready to
defy him, and him that should say so by them; but
all this while they serve him, and come and go at his
will, and live under his government: " His servants
you are to whom ye yield yourselves to obey." O,
how many then will be found the real servants of
the devil, that take themselves for no other than the
children of God! He can no sooner offer a sinful
delight or opportunity for your unlawful advantage,
than you embrace it. If he suggest a lie or prompt
you to revenge, you readily obey: if he forbid you
to read or pray, you hearken to him, and therefore
his servants you are. Indeed, he acts in the dark,
and sinners see not who setteth them on work, but
all the while he leads them. Doubtless the liar
intends not a service to Satan, but his own advan-
tage; yet it is he that stands unobserved, and put-
teth the thing in his heart. Questionless, Judas

190

when lie sold his Master for money, and the Chal-
deans and Sabeans when they plundered Job, intended
not to do the devil a pleasure, but to satisfy their
own covetous thirst; yet it was he that actuated
them in their wickedness. Men may be very slaves
of the devil, and not know it: nay, they may please
themselves in the thoughts of happy liberty.

Art thou yet in ignorance, and not turned from
darkness to light ? Why thou art under the power
of Satan. Dost thou live in the ordinary and wil-
ful practice of any known sin ? know that thou art
of the devil. Dost thou live in strife, or envy, or
malice ? Verily he is thy father. O dreadful case !
However Satan may provide his slaves with divers
pleasures, yet it is but to deceive them into endless
perdition. The serpent comes with the apple in
his mouth, O! but, with Eve, thou seest not the
deadly sting in his tail. He that is now thy tempter
will one day be thy tormentor. O, that I could
but give thee to see how bad a master thou servest,
how merciless a tyrant thou gratifiest, all whose plea-
sure is to set thee on w^ork to make tliy perdition
and damnation sure, and to heat the furnace hotter
and hotter in which thou must burn for millions and
millions of ages.

IV. The guilt of all thy sins lies like a mountain
upon thee. Poor soul ! thou feelest it not ; but
this is that which seals thy misery upon thee. While
unconverted, none of thy sins are blotted out, they
are all upon record against thee. Regeneration and
remission are never separated; the unsanctified arc
unquestionably unjustified and unpardoned. Look

191

upon an enlightened sinner, who feels the weight of
his own guilt: O, how frightful are his looks, how
fearful are his complaints ! his comforts are turned
into wormwood, and his moisture into drought, and
his sleep is departed from his eyes. He is a terror
to himself and all that are about him; and is ready
to envy the very stones that lie in the street, because
they are senseless, and feel not his misery: and
wisheth he had been a dog, rather than a man, be-
cause then death had put an end to his misery;
whereas now it will be but the beginning of that
which will know no ending.

o

How light soever you may make of it now, you
will one day find the guilt of an unpardoned sin to
be a heavy burden. This is a mill-stone, that
" whosoever falleth upon it, shall be broken : but
upon whomsoever it shall fall it shall grind him to
powder." What work did it make with our blessed
Saviour ! It pressed the very blood, to a wonder,
out of his veins, and broke all his bones: and, if it
did this in the green tree, what will it do in the dry.

O! think of thy case in time. Canst thou think
of that threat without trembling, " Ye shall die in
your sins." O ! better were it for thee to die in a
dungeon, than die in thy sins. If death, as it
will take away all thy other comforts, would take
away thy sins too, it were some mitigation; but thy
sins will follow thee when thy friends leave thee,
and all worldly enjoyments shake hands with thee.
Thy sins will not die with thee, as a prisoner's other
debts will; but they will to judgment with thee,
there to be thy accusers ; and they will to hell with

thee, there to be thy tormentors. O, the work that
these will make thee ! O, look over thy debts in
time — howis every one of God's commandmentsready
to arrest thee, and take thee by the throat, for the
innumerable bonds it hath upon thee ! What wilt
thou do then, when they shall all together come in
against thee ? Hold open the eyes of conscience to
consider this, that thou mayest despair of thyself,
and be driven to Christ and fly for refuge, to " lay
hold on the hope that is set before thee."

V. Thij raging lusts do miserahlij enslave thee.
While unconverted, thou art a very servant to sin ;
it reigns over thee, and holds thee under its domin-
ion till thou art brought within the bonds of God's
covenant. Now, there is no such another tyrant as
sin: O the vile and fearful v»^ork that it doth engage
its servants in ! Would it not pierce a man's heart
to see a company of poor creatures drudging and
toiling, and ail to carry together faggots and fuel
for their own burning? Why this is the employ-
ment of sin's drudges : even while they bless them-
selves in their unrighteous gains, while they sing
and swim in pleasure, they are but treasuring up
wrath and vengeance for their eternal burning.
Who would serve such a master, whose wages are
death?

What a woeful spectacle was the poor wretch
that \vas possessed with the legion ! Would it not
have grieved thy heart to have seen him among the
tombs cutting and wounding himself? This is thy
case; such is thy work; every stroke is a thrust at
thy heart. Conscience indeed is now asleep ; but

193

when death and judgment shall bring thee to thy
senses, then \vilt thou feel the raging smart and
anguish in every wound. The convinced sinner is
a sensible instance of the miserable bondage of sin :
conscience flies upon him, and tells him what the
end of these things will be; and yet such a slave he
is to his lust, that on he must, though he sees it
will be his endless perdition ; and, when the tempta-
tion comes, it breaks the cords of all his vows and
promises, and carries him headlong to his own de-
struction.

VI. The furnace of eternal vengeance is heated
ready fur thee. Hell and destruction open their
mouths upon thee ; waiting, as it were, as thou
standest upon the brink, when thou wilt drop in.
If the wrath of men be " as the roaring of a lion,"
" more heavy than the sand," what is the wrath of
the infinite God! if the burning furnace heated in
Nebuchadnezzar's fiery rage, when he commanded it
to be made yet seven times hotter, was so fierce as
to burn up even those that drew near it to throw
the children in, how hot is that burning furnace of
the Almighty's fury ! surely this is seventy times
seven more fierce. " Can thy heart endure, or can
thine hands be strong, in the day that I will deal
with thee, saith the Lord of hosts?" " Canst
thou abide the everlasting burnings ? Canst thou
dwell with consuming fire?" The most patient
man that ever was, did curse the day that ever he
was born, and even wish death to come and end his
misery, when God did but let out one little drop of
his wrath; how then wilt thou endure when God
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shall pour out all Ins vials, and set himself against
thee, to torraent thee? when immortality shall be
thy misery; and to die the death of a brute, and be
swallowed in the gulph of annihilation, shall be such
a felicity as the whole eternity of wishes, and an
ocean of tears, shall never purchase ? Now thou
canst " put off the evil day," and canst " laugh and
be merry, and forget the terror of the Lord," but
how wilt thou hold out, or hold up, when God will
cast thee into a " bed of torments," and make thee
" to lie down in sorrow?" when " the wine of the
wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture
into the cup of his indignation," shall be thy only
drink ? In a word, when the smoke of thy torment
shall ascend for ever and ever, and thou shalt have
no rest night nor day, no rest in thy conscience; but
thou shalt be an execration, and an astonishment,
and a curse, and a reproach, for evermore?

O sinner! stop here and consider: if thou art a
man, and not a senseless block, consider! Bethink
thyself where thou standest! why, upon the very
brink of destruction. " As the Lord liveth, and
thy soul liveth," there is but a step between thee
and this. Thou knowest not, when thou liest down,
but thou mayest be in it before the morning: thou
knowest not, when thou risest, but thou mayest drop
in before night. Darest thou make light of this?
Wilt thou go on in such a dreadful condition, as if
nothing ailed thee? If thou puttest it off, and say-
est, *' This doth not belong to thee," look again
over the foregoing chapter, and tell me the truth :
are none of those marks found upon thee? Do not

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blind thine eyes; do not deceive thyself; see thy
misery while thou mayest prevent it: think what it
is to be a vile outcast, a vessel of wrath, fitted for
destruction.

Divine wrath is a fierce, devouring, everlasting,
unquenchable fire, and this must be thy portion, un-
less thou consider thy ways, and speedily turn to the
Lord by a sound conversion. Whose heart would
not have melted to have heard Spira's outcries?
To have seen Chaloncr, that monument of justice,
worn to skin and bone, blaspheming the God of hea-
ven, cursing himself, and continually crying out " O
torture, torture, torture! O tort are, torture," as if
the flames of wrath had already taken hold on him?
To have heard Rogers crying out, " I have a little
pleasure, but now 1 must have hell for evermore :"
wishing but for this mitigation, that God would but
let him lie burning for ever behind the back of that
fire, on the earth, and bringing in his sad conclu-
sion still, at the end of whatever was spoken to him
to afibrd him some hope, " I must to hell, I must
to the furnace of hell, for millions and millions of
ages!" O! if the fears and forethoughts of the
wrath to come be so terrible, so intolerable, what is
the feeling of it !

Sinner, it is but in vain to flatter you: this would
be but to delude you into the unquenchable fire.
Know ye, from the living God, that here you must
lie; wuth these burnings you must dwell till immor-
tality die, and immutability change; till eternity run
out and omnipotence is no longer able to torment,
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except you be in good earnest renewed throughout
by sanctifying grace.

VII. The IWiSo discharges all its threats and curses
at thee. O how dreadfully doth it thunder! its
words are as drawn swords, and as the sharp arrows
of the mighty: it demands satisfaction to the utmost,
and cries, Justice ! Justice ! It speaks blood, and
war, and wounds, and death, against thee. O man,
away to thy strong-hold, away from thy sins; haste
to the sanctuary, the city of refuge, even the Lord
Jesus Christ — hide thee in him, or else thou art lost,
without any hope of recovery.

VIII. The gospel itself bindeth the sentence of
eternal damnation upon thee. If thou continuest
in thine impenitent and unconverted state, know
that the gospel denounceth a much sorer condemna-
tion than ever would have been for the transgression
only of the first covenant. Is it not a dreadful case
to have the gospel itself fill its mouth with threats ?
" To have the Lord to roar from mount Sion against
thee?" " Hear the terror of the Lord: he that
believcth not shall be damned. Except ye repent, ye
shall all perish." '* This is the condemnation, that
light is come into the world, and men love darkness
rather than light." " He that believeth not, the
wrath of God abideth on him." " If the word
spoken by angels was steadfast; and every trans-
gression and disobedience received a just recompense
of reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great
salvation." " He that despised Moses' law, died
without mercy : of how much sorer punishment shall
he be thought worthy, that hath trampled under foot
the Son of God !"

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Application, And is this true indeed? Is this
thy misery ? Yea, it is as true as God is. Better
open thine eyes and see it now, while thou mayest
remedy it, than bhnd and harden thyself, till, to thy
eternal sorrow, thou shalt feel what thou wouldst
not believe: and, if it be true, what dost thou mean,
to loiter and linger in such a case as this ?

Alas, for thee, poor man ! how effectually hath
sin undone thee, and deprived and despoiled thee
even of thy reason to look after thine own ever-
lasting good ! What stupidity and senselessness
have surprised thee ! O ! let me awake this sleeper !
Art thou a reasonable soul, and yet so far brutalized
as to forget thyself immortal, and to think thyself to
be as the beasts that perish ? Having reason to un-
derstand the eternity of the future state, dost thou
yet make light of being everlastingly miserable,
which is to be so much below the brute, as it is
worse to act against reason than to act without it ?
O unhappy soul, that wast the glory of man, the fel-
low of angels, and the image of God ! that wast
God's representative in the world, and had the su-
premacy amongst the creatures, and the dominion
over thy Maker's works ! art thou now become a
slave to sense, or art heaping together a little refined
earth, so unsuitable to thy spiritual immortal nature ?
O, why dost thou not bethink thee where thou shalt
be for ever ? Death is at hand : " the Judcre is

o

even at the door." Yet a little while, and " time
shall be no longer." And wilt thou run the hazard
of continuing in such a state, in which, if thou be
overtaken, thou art irrecoverably miserable ?

198

Come then, arise, and attend thy nearest con-
cerns ! Tell me whither art thou going ? What !
wilt thou live in such a course, wherein every act is
a step to perdition; and dost thou not know but the
next night thou mayest make thy bed in hell ? O !
if thou hadst a spark of reason, consider, and turn
and hearken to thy very friend, who would therefore
show thee thy present misery, that thou mightest in
time make thine escape, and be eternally happy.

Hear what the Lord saith : " Fear ye not me,
saith the Lord? will ye not tremble at my presence?"
O sinners, do you make light of " the wrath to
come ?" I am sure there is a time coming when
you will not make light of it. Why, the very
" devils do believe and tremble.'* What ! you more
hardened than they? W^ill you run upon the edge
of the rock ? Will you play at the hole of the asp ?
Will you put your hand upon the cockatrice's den ?
Will you trifle with devouring wrath, as if you were
at a point of indifference whether you did escape or
endure it ? O madness of felly ! Solomon's mad-
man, that casteth fire-brands, and arrows, and death,
and saith, *' Am I not in jest?" There is nothing
so distracted as the wilful sinner, that gopth on in his
unconverted state without sense, as if nothing ailed
him. The man that runs into the cannon's mouth,
or lets out his life in a frolic, is sensible, sober, and
serious to him that goeth on still in his trespasses,
for he " stretcheth out his hand against God, and
strengthens himself against the Almighty. He
runneth upon the thick bosses of his buckler." Is it
wisdom to trifle with the second death, or to venture

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into " the lake that burneth with fire and brim-
stone ?" What shall I say ? I can find out no ex-
pression, no comparison, whereby to set fortli the
dreadful distraction of that soul that shall go on in

sin.

Awake, awake, O sinner! arise and take thy
flicrht. There is but one door that thou mayest flee
by, and that is the strait door of conversion and the
new birth. Unless thou turn unfeignedly from all
thy sins, and come to Jesus Christ, and take him for
the Lord thy righteousness, and walk in him in
holiness and newness of life, as the Lord liveth, it is
not more certain that thou art now out of hell, than
that thou shalt without fail be in it but a few days
or nights hence. O, set thy heart to think of thy
case. Is not thy everlasting misery or welfare that
which doth deserve a little consideration ? Look
atrain over the miseries of the unconverted. If the
Lord hath not spoken by me, regard me not ; but
if it be the very word of God that all this misery
lies upon thee, what a case art thou in ? Is it for
one that hath his senses, to live in such a condition,
and not to make all possible expedition for prevent-
ing his utter ruin ? O man, " who hath bewitched
thee," that in the matters of this present life thou
shalt be wise enough to forecast thy business, fore-
see thy danger, and prevent thy mischief, but in
matters of everlasting consequence shall be slight
and careless, as if they little concerned thee ? Why,
is it nothing to thee to have all the attributes of
God engaged against thee? Canst thou do well
without his favour? Canst thou escape his hands,

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or endure his vengeance ? Dost thou hear the crea-
tion groaning under thee, and hell groaning for thee,
and yet think thy case " good enough ?" Wilt thou
make light of all the terrors of the law, of all its
curses and thunders ? Dost thou laugh at hell
and destruction, or canst thou drink the envenomed
cup of the Almighty's fury, as if it were but a com-
mon potion?"

'' Gird up now thy loins like a man, for I will
demand of thee, and answer thou me," Art thou
such a Leviathan, as that the scales of thy pride
should keep thee from thy Maker's coming at thee ?
Wilt thou esteem his arrows as straw, and the in-
struments of death as rotten wood ? Art thou chief
of all the children of pride, even that thou shouldst
count his darts as stubble, and laugh at the shaking
of his spear? Art thou like the horse that paweth
in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength, who goeth
out to meet the armed men ? Dost thou mock at
fear, and art not affrighted, neither turnest back from
God's sword when his quiver rattleth against thee,
the glittering spear, and the shield ? Well, if the
threats and calls of the word will not fright thee nor
awaken thee, I am sure death and judgment will. O,
what wilt thou do when the Lord cometh forth
against thee, and in his fury falleth upon thee, and
thou shalt feel what thou readest? If, when Da-
niel's enemies were cast into the den of lions, both
they and their wives and their children, the lions had
the mastery of them, and broke all their bones in
pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den,
what shall be done with thee when thou fallcst into
the hands of the livincj God ?

201

O! do not then contend with God. ** Repent
and be converted," so none of this shall come upon
thee. " Seek ye the Lord while he may be found ;
call on him while he is near : let the wicked forsake
his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts : let
him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy
on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly
pardon."

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CHAPTER VI.

Directions for Co7iversio7U

Before thou readest these directions, I advise
thee, yea, I charge thee, before God and his holy
angels, that you resolve to follow them, as far as
conscience shall be convinced of their agrceableness
to God's word and thy state, and call in his assist-
ance and blessing that they may succeed. And, as I
have " sought the Lord," and consulted his oracles
what advice to give thee, so must thou entertain
them with that awe, reverence, and purpose of obe-
dience, that the word of the living God doth require.

Now, then, attend : " Set thine heart unto all
that I shall testify unto thee this day ; for it is not
a vain thing, it is your life." This is the end of all
that has been spoken hitherto, to bring you to set
upon turning, and make use of God's means for
your conversion. I would not trouble you, nor
'' torment you before your time," with the sore
thoughts of your eternal misery, but in order to your
making your escape. Were you shut up under your
present misery without remedy, as it were but mercy,
as one speaks, to let you alone, that you might take
in that little poor comfort that you are capable of
in this world ; but you may yet be happy, if you do
not wilfully refuse the means of your recovery. Be-
hold I hold open the door to you ; arise, take your
flight. I set the way of life before you ; walk in it,

Q03

and " you sliall live and not die." It grieves me to
think you should be your own murderers, and throw
yourselves headlong, when God and man cry out to
you, as Peter in another case to his Master, " spare
thyself."

A noble virgin, that attended the court of Spain,
\>as wickedly ravished by the king; and hereupon,
exciting the duke, her father, to revenge, he called
in the Moors to his help : who, when they had exe-
cuted his design, miserably wasted and spoiled the
country; which this virgin laying so extremely to
heart, she shut herself up in a tower belonging to
her father's house, and desired her father and mo-
ther might be called forth; and, bewailing to them
their wretchedness, that she should occasion so much
misery and desolation to the country for satisfying
her revenge, she told them she had resolved to be
revenged upon herself. Her father and mother be-
sought her to pity herself and them; but nothing
prevailing, she took her leave of them, and threw
herself off the battlements, and so perished before
their faces.

Just thus is the wilful destruction of ungodly
men. The God that made them, beseeching them,
crieth out to them, as Paul to the distracted jailor,
when about to murder himself, " do thyself no
harm." The ministers of Christ forewarn them,
and follow them, and fain would have them back;
but alas ! no expostulations or obtestations will pre-
vail, but men will hurl themselves into perdition,
while pity itself looketh on.

What shall I say? Would it not grieve a person

204

of any humanity, if, in the time of a raging plague,
he should have a receipt, as one said well, that
would infallibly cure all the country, and recover the
most hopeless patients, and yet his friends and neigh-
bours should die by hundreds about him, because
they would not use it? Men and brethren, though
you carry the certain symptoms of death in your
faces, yet I have a receipt that will cure you all, and
will cure infallibly. Follow but these directions,
and, if you do not then win heaven, I will be content
to lose it.

Hear, then, O sinner ! and, as ever thou wouldst
be converted and saved, embrace this following
counsel.

Direct. I. Set it down mth thyself^ as an un-
doubted truth, that it is impossible for thee ever to ^
get to heaven in this thy unconverted state. Can
any other but Christ save thee? and he tells thee
he will never do it, except thou be regenerated and
converted. Doth he not keep the keys of heaven?
and canst thou go in without his leave? as thou
must, if ever thou come thither in thy natural con-
dition, without a sound and thorough renovation.

Direct. II. Labour to get a thorough sight, and
lively sense and feeling of thy sins. Till men are
weary and heavy laden, and pricked at the heart and
quite sick of sin, they shall not come unto Christ,
in his way, for ease and cure, nor to purpose inquire,
" What shall we do ?'' They must set themselves
down for dead men before they will come unto Christ,
that they may have life. Labour therefore to set
all thy sins in order before thee; never be afraid to

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205

look upon them, but let thy Spirit make diligent
search. Inquire into thine heart, and into thy life;
enter into a thorough examination of thyself and all
thy ways, that thou may est make a full discovery;
and call in the help of God's Spirit in the sense of
thine own inability hereunto, for it is his proper
work to convince of sin. Spread all before the face
of thy conscience. Leave not striving with God
and thine own soul, till it cry out, under the sense
of thy sins, as the enlightened jailor, " what must I
do to be saved?" To this purpose,

'' Meditate on the numerousness of thy sins."
David's heart failed when he thought of this, and
considered that he had more sins than hairs. This
made him cry out for the multitude of God's tender
mercies. Look backward: where was ever the place,
what was ever the time, in which thou didst not sin?
Look inward : what part or power canst thou find in
soul or body, but it is poisoned with sin? Look
over the sins of thy nature, the sins of thy life.
Call to mind thy omissions, commissions; the sins of
thy thoughts, words, and actions; the sins of thy
youth and the sins of thy years, &c. Be not like
a desperate bankrupt, that is afraid to look over his
books. Read the records of conscience carefully.
These books must be opened sooner or later.

" Meditate on the aggravations of thy sins, as
they are the grand enemies of the God of thy life,
and of the life of thy soul: in a word, they are the
public enemies of all mankind." How do David,
Ezra, Daniel, and the good Levite, aggravate their
sins, from the consideration of their injuriousness to

206

God, their opposition to his good and righteous laws,
the mercies, the warnings, against which they were
committed. O the w^ork that sin hath made in the
world ! This is the enemy that hath brought in death,
and hath robbed and enslaved man, that hath prepared
hell. This is the enemy that hath sown dissension be-
tween man and the creatures, betwixt man and man,
yea, between man and himself, setting the sensitive
part against the rational, the will against the judg-
ment, affection against conscience; yea, worst of all,
between God and man, making the lapsed sinner
both hateful to God and the hater of God. O man !
how canst thou make so light of sin ? This is the
traitor that crucified the Son of God, that sold him,
that mocked him, that scourged him, that spit in his
face, that nailed his hands, that pierced his side, that
pressed his soul, that mangled his body, that never
left till he had bound him, condemned him, nailed
him, crucified him, and put him to an open shame.
This is that deadly poison, so powerful of operation,
as that one drop of it, shed on the root of mankind,
hath corrupted, spoiled, poisoned, and undone, his
whole race at once. This is the bloody executioner,
that hath killed the prophets, burned the martyrs,
murdered all the apostles, all the patriarchs, all the
kino-s and potentates; that has destroyed cities,
swallowed empires, and devoured whole nations.
Whatever was the weapon it was done by, sin was
that which did the execution. Dost thou yet think
it but a small thing? Study the nature of sin till
thy heart incline to fear and loathe it ; and meditate
on the aggravations of thy particular sins, how thou

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207

hast sinned against all God's warnings, against thy
own prayers, against mercies, against correction,
afrainst clearest light, against freest love, against
thine own resolutions, against promises, vows, cove-
nants, and better obedience, Sec. Charge thy heart
home with these things, till it blush for shame, and
be brought out of all good opinion of itself.

" Meditate on the desert of sin." It crieth to
heaven; it calls for vengeance. Its due wages are
death and damnation; it brings the curse of God
upon the soul and body. The least sinful word or
thought lays thee under the infinite wrath of God
Almighty. O what a load of wrath, what a weight
of curses, what a treasure of vengeance, have all thy
numerous sins then deserved ! O judge thyself,
that the Lord may not judge thee.

" Meditate on the deformity and defilement of
sin." It is as the very image and likeness of the
devil drawn upon the soul. There is no plague or
leprosy so noisome, as sin, whereby thou art ren-
dered more displeasing to the pure and holy nature
of the glorious God, than the vilest object, composed
of whatever is hateful to all thy senses, can be to
thee. Thou art contrary to the pure and perfect
holiness of the divine nature, till thou art purified
by the blood of Jesus, and the power of renewing
grace.

Above all other sins, fix the eye of consideration
on these two:

1. The sin of thy nature. It is to little purpose
to lop the branches, while the root of original cor-
ruption remains untouched. In vain do men lave

208

out the streams, when the fountain is running that
fills up all again. Let the axe of thy repentance,
with David's, go to the root of sin. Study how
deep, how close, how permanent, is thy natural pol-
lution, how universal it is, till thou dost cry out,
with Paul's feeling, upon thy body as dead. The
heart is never soundly broken, till thoroughly con-
vinced of the heinousness of original sin. Here fix
thy thoughts; this is that which makes thee backward
to all good, prone to all evil. That sheds blind-
ness, pride, prejudice, unbelief, into thy mind; en-
mity, inconstancy, obstinacy, into thy will: inordi-
nate heats and colds into thy affections ; insensible-
ness, benumbedness, unfaithfulness into thy con-
science; slipperiness into thy memory; and in a
word, hath put every wheel of the soul out of order,
and made it, of a habitation of holiness, to become
a very hell of iniquity. This is what hath defiled,
corrupted, perverted all thy members, and turned
them into weapons of unrighteousness and servants
of sin; that hath filled the head with carnal and
corrupt designs; the hand with sinful practices; the
eyes with wandering and wantonness, the tongue
with deadly poison; that hath opened the ear to
tales, flattery, and filthy communication, and shut
them against the instructions of life; and hath ren-
dered thy heart a very mint and forge for sin, so
that it sendeth forth its wickedness without ceasing,
even as naturally, freely and unweariedly, as a foun-
tain doth pour forth its waters, or the raging sea
doth cast forth mire and dirt. And wilt thou yet
be in love with thyself, and tell us any longer of thy

209

good heart? O never leave meditating on the des-
perate contagion of original corruption, till, with
Ephraim, thou bemoan thyself, and with the deepest
shame and sorrow smite on thy breast, as the pub-
lican; and, with Job, abhor thyself, and repent in
dust and ashes.

2. The particular evil that thou art most addicted
to. Find out all its aggravations, set home upon thy
heart all God's threats against it: repentance drives
before it the whole herd, but especially sticks the
arrow in the beloved sin, and singles this out, above
the rest, to run it down. O ! labour to make this
sin odious to thy soul, and double thy guard and
resolutions against it, because it doth most disho-
nour God and endanger thee.

Direct. III. Strive to affect thy heart Xi:ith a deep
sense of thy present misery. Read over the fore-
going chapter again and again, and get it out of the
book into thy heart. Remember, when thou liest
down, that, for aught thou knowest, thou mayest
awake in flames, and when thou risest up, that by
the next night thou mayest make thy bed in hell.
Is it a just matter to live in such a fearful case, to
stand tottering upon the brink of the bottomless pit,
and to live at the mercy of every disease ? Suppose
thou sawest a condemned wretch hanging over Ne-
buchadnezzar's burning fiery furnace by nothing but
a slender thread, which were ready to break every
moment, would not thy heart tremble for such a one?
Why, thou artf the man; this is thy very case, O
man, that readest this, if thou yet be unconverted !
What it' the thread of thy hfe should break, (why

210

thou knowcst not but it may be the next night, yea,
the next moment) where wouklst thou be then?
Whither wouldst thou drop? Verily, upon the
breaking of this thread, thou fallest into the lake
that burns with fire and brimstone, if thou die in thy
present case. And doth not thy soul tremble as
thou readest? Do not thy tears bedew the paper,
and thy heart throb, in thy bosom ? Dost thou not
yet begin to smite on thy breast, and bethink thy-
self what need thou hast of achanf^e? O! what
is thy heart made of? Hast thou not only lost all
regard to God, but art without any love and pity to
thyself?

O study thy misery, till thy heart cry out for
Christ as earnestly as ever a drowning man did for a
boat, or the wounded for a surgeon. Men must
come to see the daufjer and feel the smart of their
deadly sores and sickness, or else Christ will be to
them a physician of no value. Then the manslayer
hastens to the city of refuge when pursued by the
avenger of blood. Men must be even forced out of
themselves, or else they will not come to Christ.
It was distress and extremity that made the prodigal
think of returning. While Laodicea thinks herself
rich, increased in goods, in need of nothing, there is
little hope. She must be deeply convinced of her
wretchedness, blindness, poverty, nakedness, before
she will come to Christ for his gold, raiment, eye-
salve. Therefore hold the eyes of conscience open,
amplify thy misery as much as possible ; do not flee
the sight of it, for fear it should fill thee with terror.
The sense of thy misery is but as it were the sup-

211

puration of the wound, which is necessary to the
cure. Better fear the torments that abide thee
now, than feel tliem hereafter.

Direct. IV. Settle it upon thy heart that thou art
under evetiasting inability ever to recover thyself.
Never think thy praying, reading, hearing, confes-
sing, amending, will do the cure; these must be at-
tended to, but thou art undone if thou restest in them.
Thou art a lost man, if thou hopest to escape by any
other means but Jesus Christ. Thou must unlearn
thyself, and renounce thine own wisdom, thine own
righteousness, thine own strength, and throw thy-
self wholly upon Christ, as a man that swims casts
himself upon the water, or else thou canst not escape.
While men trust in themselves, and establish their
own righteousness, and have confidence in the flesh,
they will not come savingly to Christ. Thou must
know thy gain to be but loss and dung, thy strength
but weakness, thy righteousness rags, before there
will be an effectual closure between Christ and thee.
Can the lifeless body shake off its grave-clothes, and
loose the bands of death? then mayest thou recover
thyself, who art dead in trespasses and sins, and un-
der an impossibility of serving thy Maker acceptably
in this condition. Therefore, when thou goest to
pray or meditate, or to do any of the duties to which
thou art here directed, go out of thyself ; call in the
help of the Spirit, as despairing to do any thing
pleasing to God in thine own strength : yet neglect
not thy duty, but lie at the pool, and wait in the
way of the Spirit. While the eunuch was reading,
then the Holy Ghost did send Philip to him.

SI2

When the disciples were praying, when Cornelius
and liis friends were hearing, then the Holy Ghost
fell upon them and filled them all. Strive to give
up thyself to Christ; strive to pray; strive to medi-
tate; strive a hundred and a hundred times; try to
do it as well as thou canst; and while thou art en-
deavouring in the way of thy duty, the Spirit of the
Lord will come upon thee, and help thee to do what
of thyself thou art utterly unable to perform.

Direct. V. Fortlnsoith renounce all thy sins. If
thou yield thyself to the practice of any sin, thou art
undone. In vain dost thou hope for life by Christ,
except thou depart from iniquity. Forsake thy sins,
or else thou canst not find mercy. Thou canst not
be married to Christ, except divorced from sin.
Give up the traitor, or you can have no peace in
heaven. Thou must part with thy sins or with thy
soul: spare but one sin, and God will not spare thee.
Never make excuses; thy sins must die, or thou
must die for them. If thou allow of one sin, though
but a little, a secret one, though thou mayest plead
necessity, and have a hundred shifts and excuses for
it, the life of thy soul must go for the life of that
sin. And will it not be dearly bought ?

O sinner! hear and consider: if thou wilt part
with thy sins, God will give thee his Christ. Is
not this a fair exchange? I testify unto thee, this
day, that, if thou perish, it is not because there was
never a Saviour provided, nor life tendered, but be-
cause thou preferredst, with the Jew, the murderer
before thy Saviour, sin before Christ, " and lov-
edst darkness rather than light." Search thy heart,

213

therefore, with candles, as the Jews did their houses
for leaven before the passover. Labour to find out
thy sins; enter into thy closet, and consider, what
evil have I lived in? What duty liave I neglected
towards God? What sin have I lived in against
my brother? And now strike tlie darts through the
heart of thy sin, as Joab did through Absalom's.
Never stand looking upon thy sins, nor rolling the
morsel under thy tongue, but reject it with fear and
detestation. Alas ! what will thy sins do for thee,
that thou shouldst stick at parting with them? They
will flatter thee, but they will undo thee, and poison
thee while they please thee, and arm the justice and
wrath of the infinite God against thee. Behold
the gibbet that they have prepared for thee ! O
serve them like Haman, and do upon them the exe-
cution they would else have done upon thee. Away
with them, crucify them, and let Christ only be
Lord over thee.

Direct. VI. Make a solemn choice of God for
thy portion and blessedness. With all possible de-
votion and veneration, avouch the Lord for thy God :
set the world, with all its glory, and paint, and gal-
lantry, with all its pleasures and promotions, on the
one hand; and set God, with'all his infinite excellen-
cies and perfections on the other; and see that thou
dost deliberately make thy choice. Take up thy
rest in God. Sit thee down under his shadow.
Let his promises and perfections turn the scale
against all the world. Settle it upon thy heart,
that the Lord is an all-sufficient portion, that thou
canst not be miserable while thou hast God to live

214

upon. Take him for thy shield and exceeding great
reward. God alone is more than all the world;
content thyself with him. Let others carry the pre-
ferments and glory of the world; place thou thy hap-
piness in his favour, and in the light of his counte-
nance.

Poor sinner! thou art fallen off from God, and
hast engaged his power and wrath against thee; yet
know that, of his abundant grace, he doth offer to
be thy God again in Christ. What sayest thou?
wilt thou have the Lord for thy God ? Why, take
this counsel, and thou shalt have him; come to him
by his Christ, renounce the idols of thy own plea-
sures, gain, reputation, let these be pulled out of
their throne, and set God's interest uppermost in
thy heart. Take him as God, to be chief in thy
affections, estimations, intentions; for he will not
endure to have any set above him. In a word, thou
must take him in all his " personal relations,'* and
in all his " essential perfections."

First, In all his personal relations, God the
Father must be taken for thy father. O come to
him with the prodigal ! " Father, I have sinned
against heaven, and in thy sight, and am not worthy
to be called thy son; but since, of thy wonderful
mercy, thou art pleased to take me to be a child, I
solemnly take thee for my father, commend myself
to thy care, and trust to thy providence, and cast
my burden on thee. I depend on thy provision
and submit to thy corrections, and trust under the
shadow of thy wings, and hide in thy chambers,
and fly to thy name. I renounce all confidence in

215

myself; I repose my confidence in tliee; I deposite
my concerns with thee; I will be for tliee, and not
for another." Again, God the Son must be taken
for thy Saviour, for thy Redeemer, and Rigbteous-
ness. He must be accepted, as the only way to the
Father, and the only means of life. O tlien put off
the raiment of thy captivity, on with the wedding-
garment, and go and marry thyself to Christ. " Lord,
I am thine, and all I have, my body, soul, and
estate. I send a bill of divorce to my other lovers;
I give my heart to thee; I will be thine undividedly,
thine everlastingly. I will set thy name on all I
have, and use it only as thy goods, during thy leave,
resigning all to thee : I will have no king but thee,
to reign over me. Other lords have had dominion
over me; but novv I will make mention of thy name
only, and do now take an oath of fealty to thee, pro-
mising to serve thee and fear thee above all competi-
tors. I disavow mine own righteousness, and despair
of ever being pardoned and saved for my own duties
or graces, and lean solely on thy all sufficient sacri-
fice and intercession for pardon, and life, and accept-
ance before God. I take thee for my only guide
and instructor, resolving to be directed by thee, and
to wait for thy counsel." Lastly, God the Spirit
must be taken for thy sanctifier, for thy advocate,
thy counsellor, thy comforter, the teacher of thy ig-
norance, the pledge and earnest of thy inheritance.
" Awake, thou north wind, and come, thou south,
and blow upon my garden." " Come, thou Spirit of
the Most High ! here do thou rest for ever; dwell
here; and rest here; lo, I give up the possession to

216

thee, full possession; I send thee the keys of my
heart, that all may be for thy use, that thou may est
put thy goods, thy grace, into every room: I give
up the use of all to thee, that every faculty, and
every member, may be thy instrument to work right-
eousness, and do the will of my Father who is in
heaven."

Secondly, In all his essential perfections. Con-
sider how the Lord hath revealed himself to you in
his word. Will you take him as such a God ? O
sinner, here is the most blessed news that ever came
to the sons of men: " the Lord will be thy God, if
thou wilt but close with him in his excellencies."
Wilt thou have the merciful, the gracious, the sin-
pardoning God to be thy God ? " O yes," saith
the sinner, " I am undone else." But the Father
tells thee, I am the holy and sin-hating God; if
thou wilt be owned as one of my people, thou must
be holy, holy in heart, holy in life ; thou must put
away all thy iniquities, be they ever so near, ever
so natural, ever so necessary to the maintaining thy
worldly interest. Unless thou wilt be at defiance
with sin, I cannot be thy God. " Cast out the
leaven; put away the evil of thy doings; cease to do
evil; learn to do well;" else I can have nothing to
do with thee. Bring forth mine enemies, or there
is no peace to be had with me. What doth thine
heart answer? " Lord, I desire to have thee as
such a God : I desire to be holy as thou art holy,
and to be made partaker of thy holiness. I love
thee, not only for thy goodness and mercy, but for
thy holiness and purity. I take thy holiness for my

217

happiness. O be to me a fountain of holiness ! set
on me the stamp and impress of thy holiness; I will
thankfully part with all my sins at thy command.
My wilful sins I do forthwith forsake ; and all for
mine infirmities, that I cannot get rid of though I
would : I will strive against them in the use of the
means : I detest them, and will pray against them,
and never let them have quiet rest in my soul."
Beloved, whoever of you will thus accept of the
Lord, for his God, shall have him.

Again, he tells you, " I am the all-sufficient
God." Will you lay all at my feet, and give it up
to my disposal, and take me for your only portion ?
Will you own and honour my all-sufficiency? Will
you take me as your happiness and treasure, your
hope and bliss? I am a sun and a shield, all in
one; will you have me for your all? Now, what
dost thou say to this? Art thou loath to change
thy earthly happiness for a portion in God? and
though thou wouldst be glad to have God and the
world too, yet canst thou not think of having him,
and nothing but him, but hadst rather take up with
the earth below, if God would but let thee keep it
as long as thou wouldst? This is a fearful sin. But
now, if thou art willing to sell all for the pearl of
great price, if thine heart answer, " Lord, I desire
no other portion but thee; take the corn, and the
wine, and the oil, whoso will, so I may have the
light of thy countenance: I pitch upon thee for
my happiness; I gladly venture myself on thee,
and trust myself with thee; I set my hopes in thee;
I take up ray rest with thee. Let me hear thee say,
K

218

1 am thy God, thy salvation, and I have enough, all
I wish for; I will make no terms with thee but for
thyself. Let me but have thee sure; let me be able
to make my claim, and see my title to thyself; and,
for other things, I leave them to thee. Give me
more or less, any thing, or nothing, I will be satisfied
in my God." Take him thus, and he is thy own.

Again, he tells you, " I am the sovereign Lord :
if you will have me for your God, you must give
me the supremacy. I will not be an underling;
you must not make me a second to sin or any world-
ly interest. If you will be my people, I must have
the rule over you ; you must not live at your own
pleasure. Will you come under my yoke ? Will
you bow to my government ? Will you submit to
my discipline, to my word, to my rod ?" Sinner,
what sayest thou to this ? " Lord, I had rather be
at thy command, than live at my own list; I had
rather have thy will to be done than mine: I approve
of and consent to thy laws, and account it my privi-
lege to lie under them. And, though the flesh re-
bel, and often break its bounds, I have resolved to
take no other Lord but thee. I willingly take the
oath of thy supremacy, and acknowledge thee for my
liege Sovereign, and resolve all my days to pay the
tribute of worship, obedience, love, and service to
thee; and to live to thee to the end of my life."
This is a right acceptance of God.

To be short, he tells you, I am the true and faith-
ful God. If you will have me for your God, you
must be content to trust me. Will you venture
yourselves upon my word, and depend on my faith-

219

fulness, and take my bond for your security ? Will
you be content to follow me in poverty, and reproach,
and affliction, here, and to tarry till the next world,
for your preferment? Will you be content to la-
bour and suffer, and to tarry for your returns till the
resurrections of the just? The womb of my pro-
mise will not presently bring forth; will you have
the patience to wait? Now, beloved, what say you
to this? Will you have this God for your God?
Will you be content to live by faith, and trust him
for an unseen happiness, an unseen heaven, an un-
seen glory? Do your hearts answer, " Lord, we
will venture ourselves upon thee; we commit our-
selves to thee ; we know whom we have trusted ; we
are willing to take thy word ; we will prefer thy pro-
raises before our own possessions, and the hopes of
heaven before all the enjoyments of the earth; we
will wait thy leisure, what thou wilt here, so that
we may have but thy faithful promise for heaven
hereafter." If you can, in truth, and upon delibe-
ration, thus accept of God, he will be yours. Thus
there must be, in a right conversion to God, a clos-
ing with him suitable to his excellencies. But, when
men close with his mercy, but yet love sin, hating
holiness and purity; or will take him for their bene-
factor, but not for their sovereign, or for their patron,
and not for their portion; this is no thorough and
sound conversion.

Direct. VII. Accept of the Lord Jesus in all

his offices, nsoith all his inconveniences, as thine.

Upon these terms Christ may be had. Sinner, thou

hast undone thyself, and art plunged into the most

K 2

2^0

deplorable misery, out of which thou art never able
to escape; but Jesus Christ is able and ready to
help thee, and he freely tenders himself to thee.
Be thy sins ever so many, ever so great, or of ever
so long continuance, yet you shall be most certainly
pardoned and saved, if thou dost not wretchedly ne-
glect the offer that in the name of God is here made
to thee. The Lord Jesus calleth thee, to look to
him and be saved, to " come unto him, and he will
in no wise cast thee out." Yea, he is a suitor to
thee, and beseecheth thee to be reconciled. He crieth
in the streets ; he knocketh at thy door ; he wooeth
thee to accept of him, and live with him; if thou
diest, it is because thou wouldst not come to him for
life.

Now accept of an offered Christ, and thou art
right for ever ; now give up thy consent to him, and
the match is made; all the world cannot hinder it.
Do not stand off because of thy unworthiness. I
tell thee nothing in the world can undo thee but thy
unwilUngness. Speak; art thou desirous of the
match ? Wilt thou have Christ in all his relations,
to be thine ; thy king, thy priest, thy prophet ?
Wilt thou have him with all his inconveniences?
Wilt thou lay all at his feet ? Wilt thou be con-
tent to run all hazards with him ? Wilt thou take
thy lot with him, fall where it will? Wilt thou
" deny thyself, take u p thy cross, and follow him ?"
Art thou deliberately, understandingly, freely, de-
termined to cleave to him, in all times and condi-
tions? If so, my soul for thine, thou shalt never
perish, but art passed from death to life. Here lies

221

the main point of thy salvation, that thou be found
in thy covenant-closure with Jesus Christ; and,
therefore, if thou love thyself, see that thou be
faithful to God and thy soul here.

Direct. VIII. Resign up all thy powers and fac-
ulties, and thy "whole interest to be his. " They
gave their ownselves unto the Lord." ** Present
your bodies a living sacrifice." The Lord seeks
not yours, but you; resign, therefore, thy body,
with all its members, to him; and thy soul, with all
its powers, that he may be glorified in thy body, and
in thy spirit, which are his. In a right closure with
Christ, all thy faculties give up to him. Thy judg-
ment describes, " Lord, thou art worthy of all ac-
ceptation, chief of ten thousand. Happy is the
man that finds thee. All the things that are to be
desired are not to be compared with thee. The
understanding lays aside its corrupt reasonings and
cavils, and its prejudices against Christ and his ways.
It is now past questioning, and carries it for Christ
against all the world. It concludes it is " good to
be here," and sees such a treasure in this field, such
a value in this pearl, as is worth all. " O ! here is
the richest prize that ever man was offered, here is
the most sovereign remedy that ever mercy pre-
pared; he is worthy of my esteem, worthy of my
choice, worthy of my love, worthy to be embraced,
adored, admired, for evermore. I approve of his
articles: his terms are righteous and reasonable, full
of equity and mercy." Again, the will resigns : it
stands no longer wavering, nor wishing, but is per-
emptorily determined : " Lord, thy love hath over-

222

come me, thou hast won me, and thou shalt have
me : Come in. Lord ; to thee I freely open, I con-
sent to be saved in thine own way. Thou shalt
have any thing ; nay, have all, let me have but thee."
The memory gives up to Christ. " Lord, here is
a store-house for thee; lay in the treasure; let me
be a repository of thy truth, thy promises, thy pro-
vidences." The conscience comes in : " Lord, I
will ever side with thee ; I will be thy faithful re-
gister; I will warn when the sinner is tempted, and
smite when thou art offended; I will witness for
thee, and judge for thee^ and guide into thy ways,
and will never let sin have quiet in this soul." The
affections also come into Christ : O ! saith love, " I
am sick of thee. O ! saith desire, here is the satis-
faction I sought for; here is the desire of nations;
here is bread for me, and balm for me; all that I
want." Fear bows the knee with awe and venera-
tion. " Welcome, Lord; to thee will I pay my
homage ; thy M'ord and rod shall command my mo-
tions; thee will I reverence and adore; before thee
will I fall down and worship." Grief likewise puts
in: " Lord, thy displeasure, and thy dishonour,
thy people's calamities, and my own iniquities, shall
be what shall set me a-weeping. I will mourn when
thou art offended ; I will weep when thy cause is
wounded." Anger likewise comes in for Christ :
" Lord, nothing so enrages me as my folly against
thee, that I should be so besotted and bewitched as
to hearken to the flatteries of sin, and temptations of
Satan against thee." Hatred too will side with
Christ: " I protest mortal enmity with thine ene-

223

mies, that I never will be a friend to thy foes : I
vow an immortal quarrel with every sin; I will give
no quarter ; I will make no peace." Thus let all
thy powers give up to Jesus Christ.

Again, thou must give up thy whole interest to
him. If there be any thing that thou keepest back
from Christ, it will be thine undoing. Unless thou
wilt forsake all, in preparation and resolution of thy
heart, thou canst not be his disciple. Thou must
hate father and mother, yea, and thine own life also,
in comparison of him, and as far as it stands in com-
petition with him. In a word, thou must give him
thyself, and all that thou hast, without reservation,
or else thou canst have no part in him.

Direct. IX. Make choice of the laws of Christ,
as the rule of thy words, thoughts, and actions.
This is the true convert's choice. But here remem-
ber these three rules: 1. You must choose them all:
there is no getting to heaven by a partial obedience.
Read Psalm cxix. 6, 128, 160. Ezek. xviii. 21.
None may think it enough to take up with the cheap
and easy part of religion, and let alone the duties
that are costly, and self-denying, and contrary to
the interest of the flesh ; you must take all or none.
A sincere convert, though he makes most conscience
of the greatest sins and weightiest duties; yet he
makes true conscience of little sins and of all duties.
For all times — for prosperity and for adversit3\ A
true convert is resolved in his way; he will stand to
his choice, and will not set his back to the wind, and
be of the religion of the times. '' I have stuck to
thy testimonies ; 1 have inclined my heart to perform

224

thy statutes always, even to the end. Thy testi-
monies have I taken as an heritage for ever. I will
have respect to thy statutes continually." This
must be done deliberately and understandingly. The
disobedient son said, *' I go, Sir; but he went not."
How fairly did they promise? " All that the Lord
our God shall speak unto thee, we will do it." And
it is like they spake as they meant : but, when it
came to trial, it was found, that there was not such
a heart in them as to do what they had promised.
If you would be sincere in closing with the laws
and ways of Christ, first " study the meaning, and
latitude, and compass of them." Remember that
they are spiritual; they reach the very thoughts and
inclinations of the heart; so that, if you will walk
by this rule, your very thoughts and inward motions
must be under government. Again, they are very
strict and self-denying, quite contrary to the grain
of your natural inclinations; you must take the strait
gate, the narrow way, and be content to have the
flesh curbed from the liberty it desires. In a word,
that they are very large, for " thy commandments
are exceeding broad." 2. Rest not in generals,
(for there is much deceit in that) but bring down
thine heart to the particular commands of Christ.
Those Jews in the Prophet seemed as well resolved
as any in the world, and called God to witness that
they meant as they said, but they kept in generals;
when God's command crosses their inclination, they
will not obey, Jer. xlii. 1 — 6. compared with chap,
xliii. 2. Take the Assembly's Larger Catechism,
and see their excellent and most compendious Expo-

225

sition of the Commandments, and put thy heart to
it. Art thou resolved, in the strength of Christ, to
set upon the conscientious practice of every duty that
thou findest to be there required of thee, and to set
against every sin that thou findest here fordidden .-'
This is the way to be found in God's statutes, that
thou mayest never be ashamed. 3. Observe the
special duties that thy heart is most against, and the
special sins that it is most inclined to, and see whe-
ther it be truly resolved to perform the one, and
forego the other. What sayest thou to thy bosom-
sin,°thy gainful sin? what sayest thou to costly,
hazardous, and flesh displeasing duties. If thou
haltest here, and dost not resolve, by the grace of
God, to cross the flesh, thou art unsound.

Direct. X. Let all this be completed in a solemn
covenant hetiveen God and thy soul. For thy better
help therein, take these few directions.

First, Set apart some time, more than once, to
be spent in secret before the Lord :

1. Seeking earnestly his special assistance and
gracious acceptance of thee.

2. In considering distinctly all the terms or con-
ditions of the covenant expressed in the form here-
after proposed.

3. In searching thy heart, whether thou art sin-
cerely wilUng to forsake all thy sins, and to resign
up thyself, body and soul, unto God and his service;
to serve him in holiness and righteousness all the
days of thy life.

Secondly, Compose thy spirit into the most seri-
ous frame possible, suitable to a transaction of s>o

high importance.

IC 3

226

Thirdly, Lay hold on the covenant of God, and
rely on his promise of giving grace and strength,
whereby thou mayest be enabled to perform thy
promise. Trust not to thine own strength, to the
strength of thy own resolutions; but take hold on
his strength.

Fourthly, Resolve to be faithful: having engaged
thy heart, opened thy mouth, and subscribed with
thy hand unto the Lord, resolve in his strength
never to go back.

Lastly, Being thus prepared, on some convenient
time set apart for that purpose, set upon the work,
and in the most solemn manner possible, as if the
Lord were visibly present before thine eyes, fall
down on thy knees, and spreading forth thine hands
towards heaven, open thine heart to the Lord, in
these or the like words.

" O Most dreadful God ! for the passion of thy dear

Son, I beseech thee, accept of thy ' poor Prodigal,'

now prostrating himself at thy door. I have fallen

from thee by mine iniquity, and am by nature a son

of death, and a thousand-fold more the child of hell

by my wicked practice : but of thine infinite Grace

thou hast promised grace to me in

The terms Christ, if I will but turn to thee with

ofourconver- ^jj j^^^^^ . therefore, upon the

non are either n v- i it

fromi^hich,or ^all of thy gospel, I am now come

to which. in; and throwing down my weapons,

submit myself to thy mercy."

And, because thou requirest, as the condition of

my peace with thee, that I should put away mine

idols, and be at defiance with all thine enemies,

227

which I acknowledge I have wickedly sided with

against thee, I here, from the bottom

of my heart, renounce them all, firm- r^j .

J / ' ihe terms

\y covenanting with thee, not to allow y;-o,„ ichich ive

myself in any known sin, but con- mud turn ;

scientiously use all the means that sin, Satan, ihe

I hope thou liast prescribed for the •' ,,

^ ^ ^ , oivnrighteouS'

death and utter destruction of all ji^sg^ u-hich
my corruptions. And, whereas I jnust be thus
have formerly, inordinately and idola- renounced.
trously let out my affections upon the
world, I do here resign up my heart to thee that
madest it, humbly protesting, before thy glorious
Majesty, that it is the firm resolution of my heart,
and that I unfeignedly desire grace from thee, that
when thou shalt call me hereunto, I may practise
this my resolution, through thy assistance, to for-
sake all that is dear to me in this w'orld, rather than
to turn from thee to the ways of sin; and that I will
watch against all its temptations, whether of pros-
perity or adversity, lest they should withdraw my
heart from thee; beseeching thee also to help me
against all the temptations of Satan, to whose wicked
suggestions I resolve, by thy grace, never to yield
myself a servant. And because mine own righteous-
ness is but as filthy rags, I renounce all confidence
therein, and acknowledge that I am of myself a
hopeless, helpless, undone creature,
without righteousness or strength. The terms to

And forasmuch as thou hast, of thy *^'^"'^^^ ''^^ '""^^
I 11 rr 1 . ^"^'^ ^^^ either

boundless mercy, offered most gra- uitimateorme^

ciously to me, a wretched sinner, to diate,

be again accepted by God, through

2^8

Christ, if I would accept of thee, I call heaven and
earth to record this day, that I do here solemnly
avouch thee for the Lord my God; and with all pos-
sible veneration, bowing the neck of my soul under
the feet of thy most sacred Majesty, I do here take
thee, the Lord Jehovah, Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost, for my portion, and
chief good ; and so give up myself,
body and soul, to thy service, promis-
ing and vowing to serve thee in holi-
ness and righteousness all the days
of my life.

And since thou hast appointed the
Lord Jesus Christ the only means of
coming unto thee, I do here, upon
the bended knees of my soul, accept
of him as the only, new, and living
way, by which sinners may have ac-
cess to thee: and do hereby solemnly
join myself in marriage covenant to
him.
O blessed Jesus, I come to thee, poor, and
wretched, and miserable, and blind, and naked; a
most polluted wretch, a guilty and condemned male-
factor, unworthy for ever to wash the feet of the ser-
vants of my Lord, much more to be solemnly mar-
ried to the King of Glory; but since such is thine
unparalleled love, I do here, with all my power, ac-
cept thee, and do take thee for my head and hus-
band, for all times and conditions, to love, honour,
and obey thee, before all others, and this to the
death. I embrace thee in all thy offices, I renounce

The ultimate
is God the Fa-
ther, Son, and
Holy Ghost,
who must be
thus accepted.

The mediate
terms are ei-
ther principal,
or less princi-
pal. Theprin-
cipal is Christ
the Mediator,
•who must thus
be embraced.

229

my own worthiness, and do here avow thee to be the
Lord, my righteousness; I renounce my own wis-
dom, and do here take thee for my only guide; I
renounce my own will, and take thy will for my law.
And, since thou hast told me that I must suffer
if I will rcifrn, I do here covenant with thee to take
my lot as it falls with thee ; and, by thy grace as-
sisting, to run all hazards with thee, verily suppos-
ing, that neither life nor death shall part between
thee and me.

And because thou hast been pleas- _, ,

, . 1111 .1 The least

ed to give me thy holy laws, as the principal are

rule of my life, and the way in which the laws of

I should walk to thy kingdom, I do Christ, which.

here willincrly put my neck in thy ^"^^ ^5 ^^"^

observeci»
yoke; and subscribing to all thy laws,

as holy, just, and good, I solemnly take them as the
rule of my thoughts, words, and actions; promising,
that though my flesh contradict and rebel, yet I will
endeavour to order and govern my whole life ac-
cording to thy direction, and will not allow myself in
the neglect of any thing that I know to be my duty.

Only (because through the frailty of my flesh) I
am subject to so many failings, I am bold humbly to
protest, that unallowed miscarriages, contrary to the
settled bent and resolution of my heart, shall not
make void this covenant; for so thou hast said.

Now, Almighty God, searcher of hearts, thou
knowest that I make this covenant with thee this day,
without any known guile or reservation, beseeching
thee, that if thou discoverest any flaw or falsehood
therein, thou wouldst discover it to me, and help me
to do it aright.

230

And now, glory be to thee, O God the Father,
whom I shall be bold, from this day forward, to look
upon as my God and Father, that ever thou shouldst
find out such a way for the recovery of undone sin-
ners. Glory be to thee, O God the Son, vvho hast
loved me, and washed me from my sins in thine own
blood, and art now become my Saviour and Redeemer.
Glory be to thee, O God the Holy Ghost, who, by
thine Almighty power, hast turned my heart from
sin to God.

O dreadful Jehovah! the Lord God omnipotent
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! thou art now become
my covenant-friend, and I, through thy infinite grace,
am become thy covenant-servant. Amen, so be it:
And the covenant which I have made on earth, let
it be ratified in heaven.

ADVICE.

This cove7iant I advise you to make, not only in
heart, hut in \soord; not only in Kord, hut zw uniting;
and that you 'xould, "dsith allpossihle reverence, spread
the 'writi?ig hefore the Lord, as if you \s:ould present
it to him as your act and deed: and. iu'lien you ham
done this, set your hand to it, keep it as a memorial
of the solemn transactions that have passed het'vceen
God and you, that you may have recourse to it in
douhts and temptations.

Direct. XI. T'aJce heed of delaying thy conver-
sion, and set upon a speedy and present turning: "/

231

made haste and delayed not'' Remember and tremble
at the sad instance of the foolish virgins, that came
not till the " door of mercy was shut" — and of a
convinced Felix, who put oft' Paul to another season;
and we never find that he had such another season.
O ! come in wliile it is called to-day, lest thou
shouldst be hardened through the deceitfulness of
sin — lest the day of grace should be over, and the
things which belong to thy peace should be " hidden
from thine eyes." Now mercy is wooing thee: now
Christ is waiting to be gracious to thee, and the
Spirit of God is striving with thee: now ministers are
calling: now conscience is stirring: now Christ is to
be had for the taking. O ! strike hi with the offers
of grace: O! now or never ! If thou make light
of this offer, God may swear, in his wrath, thou slialt
not taste of his supper.

Direct. XII. Attend conscientiously npon the
"dooi'd^ as the means appointed for thy conversion.
Attend, I say, not customarily, but conscientiously;
with this desire, design, hope, and expectation, that
thou mayest be converted by it. To every sermon
thou hearest come with this thought : " O ! I hope
God will now come in: I hope this day may be the
time, this may be the man by whom God will bring
me home." When thou art coming to the ordi-
nances, lift up thy heart thus to God: " Lord, let
this be the Sabbath, let this be the season, whereby
I may receive renewing grace: O ! let it be said,
that this day such a one was born unto thee."

Ohjectio7i. Thou wilt say, I have been long a
hearer of the word, and yet it hath not been effectual

232

to my conversion. Answer. Yea, but thou hast not
attended upon it in this manner as a means of thy
conversion,'nor with this design, nor praying for and
expecting the happy effect from it.

Direct. XIII. Strike in with the Spirit, when he
begins to work upon thy heart. When he works
convictions, O ! do not stifle them, but join in with
him, and beg the Lord to carry on conviction to
conversion. " Quench not the Spirit;" do not out-
strive him, do not resist him. Beware of stifling
convictions with evil company or worldly business.
When thou findest any troubles of sin, and fears
about thy eternal state, beg of God that they may
never leave thee till they have wrought off" thy heart
thoroughly from sin, and wrought it over to Jesus
Christ. Say to him, " Strike home. Lord; leave
not the work in the midst. If thou seest that I am
not wounded enough, that I am not troubled enough,
wound me yet deeper. Lord: O! go to the bottom
of my corruption, and let out the blood of my sins."
Thus yield up thyself to the workings of the Spirit.

Direct. XIV. Set upon the constant and diligent
use of serious and fervent prayer. He that neglects
prayer is a profane and unsanctified sinner. He
that is not constant in prayer is but a hypocrite; un-
less omission be contrary to his ordinary course, un-
der the force of some instant temptation. This is
one of the first things in which conversion appears,
that it sets men on praying. Therefore set to this
duty; let never a day pass over thee, wherein thou
hast not, morning and evening, set apart some time
for set and solemn prayer in secret. Call thy fa-

233

mily also together daily and duly to worship God
with thee. Woe be unto thee if thou be found
among the famiHes that call not upon God's name.
But cold and lifeless devotions will not reach half
way to heaven. Be fervent and importunate ; im-
portunity will carry it; but without violence, the
kingdom of heaven will not be taken. Thou must
strive to enter, and wrestle with tears and supplica-
tions, as Jacob, if thou meanest to carry the blessing.
Thou art undone for ever without grace, and there-
fore thou must set to it, and resolve to take no de-
nial. That man, who is fixed in this resolution :
" Well, I must have grace, or I will never give
over till I have grace ; I will never leave seeking,
waiting, and striving with God and my own heart,
till he doth renew me by the power of his graee."
This man is in the likeliest way to win grace.

Objection, But God heareth not sinners; theii-
prayer is an abomination.

A?is'wer. Distinguish between sinners. 1. There
are " resolved sinners; their prayers God abhors.
2. " Returning sinners ;" these God will come forth
to, and meet with mercy, though yet afar off.
Though the prayers of the unsanctified cannot have
full acceptance, yet God hath done much at the
request of such; as at Ahab's humiliation, and
Nineveh's fast. Surely thou mayest go as far as
these, though thou hast no grace ; and how dost
thou know but thou mayest speed in thy suit, as
they did in theirs? Yea, is he not far more likely
to grant to thee than them, since thou askest in the
name of Christ, and that not for temporal blessings,

^34<

as they, but for things much more pleasing to him,
namely, for " Christ, grace, pardon, that thou mayest
be justified, sanctified, renewed, and fitted to serve
him ?" Turn to these soul-encouraging Scriptures,
Prov. ii. 1 — 6. Luke xi. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13.
Prov. viii. 34, 35.

Is it not good comfort that he calleth thee?
Doth he set thee on the use of means, and dost
thou think he will mock thee ? Doubtless he will
not fail thee, if thou be not wanting to thyself. O,
pray, and faint not. A person of great quality,
having offended the Duke of Buckingham, the king's
great favourite, being admitted into his presence,
after long waiting, prostrates himself at his feet,
saying, " I have resolved never to rise more till I
have obtained your Grace's favour." With which
carriage he did overcome him. With such a reso-
lution do thou throw thyself at the feet of God ; it
is for thy life, and therefore follow him, and give
not over; resolve thou wilt not be put off with com-
mon mercies. What though God do not presently
open to thee ? Is not grace worth waiting for ?
Knock and wait, and no doubt, but, sooner or later,
mercy will come.

And this now, that thou hast the very same en-
couragement to seek and wait, that the saints now
in glory once had; for they were once in thy very
case. And have they sped so well, and wilt thou
not go to the same door, and wait upon thy God in
the same course?

Direct. XV. Forsake thy evil company^ andfor^
hear the occasion of sin. Thou wilt never be turned

^35

from sin till tliou wilt decline and forego the temp-
tations of sin.

1 never expect thy conversion from sin, unless
thou art brought to some self-denial, as to flee the
occasions. If thou wilt be nibbling at the bait, and
playing on the brink, and tampering and meddling
with tlie snare, thy soul will surely be taken. Where
God doth expose men, in his providence, unavoid-
ably to temptation, and the occasions are such as we
cannot remove, we may expect special assistance in
the use of his means; but, when we tempt God by
running into danger, he will not engage to support
us when we are tempted. And of all temptations,
one of the most fatal and pernicious is evil company.
O ! what hopeful beginnings have these often stifled !
O! the souls, the estates, the families, the towns,
that these have ruined ! how many poor sinners have
been enlightened and convinced, and been just ready
to escape the snare of the devil, and have even escaped
the snare, and yet wicked company has pulled them
back at last, and made them seven-fold more the
children of hell? In a word, I have no hopes of
thee, except thou wilt shake off thy evil company.
Christ speaketh to thee as to them in another case:
" If thou seek me, then let these go their way."
Thy life lies upon it : forsake these, or else thou
canst not live. Wilt thou be worse than Balaam's
ass, to run on when thou seest the Lord with a
drawn sword in the way? Let this sentence be
written in capitals upon thy conscience, " A Compa-
nion OF Fools shall be Destroyed." The
Lord hath spoken it, and who shall reverse it?

^36

And wilt thou run upon destruction, when God
himself shall forwarn thee ? If God doth ever
change thy heart, it will appear in the change of
thy company. O ! fear and flee the gulf, by which
so many thousand souls have been swallowed up in
perdition. It will be hard for thee indeed to make
thy escape. Thy companions will be mocking thee
out of thy religion, and will study to fill thee with
prejudices against strictness, as ridiculous and com-
fortless: they will be flattering thee, and alluring
thee, but remember the warnings of the Holy Ghost:
" My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not :
if they say, come with us, cast in thy lot among us;
walk thou not in the way with them, refrain thy
foot from their path; avoid it, pass by it, turn from
it, and pass away: for the way of the wicked is as
darkness, they know not at what they stumble: they
lie in wait for their own blood, they lurk privily for
their own lives." My soul is moved within me to
see how many of my hearers are like to perish, both
they and their houses, by this wretched mischief,
even the haunting of such places and company,
whereby they are drawn into sin. Once more I
admonish you, as Moses did Israel: " And he spake
unto the congregation, saying, depart, I pray you,
from the tents of these wicked men." O ! fly them
as you would those that had the plague sores run-
ning in their foreheads: and, if thou dost not make
thy escape, they will delude thee into perdition, and
will prove thine eternal ruin.

Direct. XVI. Lastly, Set apart a day to humble
thy sold in secret^ by fasting and prayer ; to work a

237

sense of thy sins and miseries npon thy heart. Read
over the Assembly's Exposition of the Command-
ments, and write down the duties omitted, and sins
committed, by thee against every commandment, and
so make a catalogue of thy sins, and with shame and
sorrow spread them before the Lord; and, if thy
heart be truly wilhng to the terms, join thyself so-
lemnly to the Lord in that covenant set down in the
10th Direction, and the Lord grant thee mercy in
his sight.

Thus have I told thee what thou must do to be
saved. Wilt thou not obey the voice of the Lord?
Wilt thou not arise and set to thy work ? O man,
what answer wilt thou make, what excuse wilt thou
have, if thou shouldst perish at last through very
wilfulness, when thou hast known the way of life ?
I do not fear thy miscarrying, if thine own idleness
do not at last undo thee, in neglecting the use of
the means that are so plainly here prescribed. Rouse
up, O sluggard ! and ply thy work ; be doing, and
the Lord will be with thee.

A short Soliloquy for an unregenerate Sinner.

Ah ! wretched man that I am ! what a condition
have I brought myself into by sin ! O ! I see my
heart hath but deceived me all this while, in flatter-
ing me tliat my condition was good. I see, I see,
I am but a lost and undone man, for ever undone,
unless the Lord help me out of this condition. My
sins ! my sins ! Lord, what an unclean, polluted,
wretch am I ! O ! what a depth of sin is in this

238

heart of mine, which I have flattered myself to be a
good heart ! Lord, how universally am I corrupted
in all my parts, powers, performances! All the
imaginations of the thoughts of my heart are only
evil continually. I am under a disability to, averse-
ness from, and enmity against, every thing that is
good, and am prone to all that is evil. And O !
the innumerable sinful thoughts, words, and actions,
that have originated in my heart ! O the load of
guilt that is on my soul! my head is full, my heart
is full, my mind and my members are full of sin.

0 my sins ! how do they stare upon me ! how do
they witness against me ! woe is me ! every com-
mandment taketh hold on me, far more than ten
thousand talents, yea, ten thousand times ten thou-
sand. How endless then is the sum of all my debts !
Woe to me ! for my debts are infinite, and my sins
are increased; they are wrongs to an infinite Ma-
jesty; and, if he that committeth treason against a
simple mortal is worthy of death, what have I not
deserved, that have so often lifted up my hand against
heaven, and have struck at the crown and dignity of
the Almighty?

O my sins, my sins ! behold a troop cometh !
multitudes, multitudes ! there is no numbering their
armies. Innumerable evils have compassed me about :
mine iniquities have taken hold upon me; they have
set themselves in array against me ! Lord, how am

1 surrounded ! how many are they that rise up against
me! they have beset me behind and before; they
have possessed all my powers, and have fortified my
unhappy soul, as a garrison, against the God that
made me.

239

And they are as mighty as they are many. The
sands are many, but then they are not great. The
mountains are great, but then they are not many:
but, woe is me ! my sins are as many as the sands,
and as mighty as the mountains; their weight is
greater than their number. It were better that the
rocks and mountains would fall upon me, than the
crushing and insupportable load of my own sins.
Lord, I am heavy laden ; let mercy help, or I am
gone. Unlade me of this heavy, this sinking, guilt.
Lord ! or I am crushed without hope, and must be
pressed down to hell. If my grief were thoroughly
weighed, and sins laid in the balance together, they
would be heavier than the sands of the sea; there-
fore my words are swallowed up. O Lord, thou
knovvest my manifold transgressions and my mighty
sins !

Ah, my soul ! alas, my glory! whither art thou
humbled? once the glory of the creation, and the
express image of God, now become corrupt and sin-
ful. O what work hath sin made witli thee! Thou
shalt be termed forsaken, and the name that thou
shalt be called by is Ichabod, or, " Where is the
glory?" How art thou come down mightily ! My
beauty is turned into deformity, and my glory into
shame. Lord, what a loathsome leper am I I and
how abhorrent I must needs be to the most holy
God, whose eyes cannot behold iniquity !

And what misery have my sins brought upon me !
Lord, what a case am I in ! sold under sin, cast out
of God's favour, cursed from the Lord, cursed in my
body, cursed in my soul, cursed in my name, in my

240

estate, in my relations, and all that I have. My
sins are unpardoned, and my soul is within a step of
death. Alas! what shall I do? whither shall I go?
which way shall I look? God is frowning on me
from above, hell gaping for me beneath, conscience
smiting me within, temptations and dangers sur-
rounding me without. O ! whither shall I flee ?
what place can hid me from omniscience? what
power can secure me from omnipotence?

What meanest thou, O my soul, to go on thus?
art thou in league with hell? hast thou made a co-
venant with death? art thou in love with thy misery?
''Is it good for thee to be here?" Alas! what
shall I do ? shall I go on in my sinful ways? Why
then certain destruction shall be my end. Shall I
linger any longer in this wretched state? No; if I
tarry here I shall die? What then? Is there no
help, no hope? None, except I turn. Why, but
is there any remedy for such woeful misery ? any
mercy after such provoking iniquity? Yes, as sure
as God's oath is true, I shall have pardon and mercy
yet, if presently, and unfeignedly, and unreservedly,
I turn by Christ to him.

Why then I thank thee, upon the bended knees
of my soul, O most merciful Jehovah ! that thy pa-
tience hath waited upon me hitherto; for, hadst thou
taken me away in this state, I had perished for ever.
And now I adore thy grace, and accept the offers of
thy mercy. I renounce all my sins, and resolve, by
thy grace, to set myself against them, and follow thee
in holiness and righteousness all the days of my life.

Who am I, Lord, that I should make any claim

241

unto thee, or have any part or portion in thee? yet,
since thou holdest forth the golden sceptre, I am
bold to come and touch. To despair would be to
disparage thy mercy — and to stand off', when thou
biddest me to come, would be at once to undo my-
self, and rebel against thee, under the pretence of
humihty. Therefore I bow my soul to thee, and
with all possible thankfulness accept thee as mine,
and give up myself to thee as thine. Thou shalt be
Sovereign over me, " ray King and my God." Thou
shalt be in the throne, and all my powers shall bow
to thee; they shall come and worship before thy
feet. Thou shalt be my portion, O Lord, and I
will rest in thee.

Thou callest for my heart : O that it were any
way fit for thine acceptance ! I am unworthy, O
Lord ! everlastingly unworthy to be thine; but, since
thou wilt have it so, I freely give up my heart to
thee — take it; it is thine. O that it were better!
But, Lord, I put it into thy hand, who alone canst
mend it. Mould it after thine own heart; make it,
as thou wouldst have it, holy, humble, heavenly, soft,
tender, flexible; and write thy law upon it.

" Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!" enter in
triumphantly; take me up to thee for ever. I give
up myself to thee; I come to thee, as the only way
to the Father, as the only mediator, the means or-
dained to bring me to God. I have destroyed my-
self, but in thee is my help: " Save, Lord, or else
I perish !" Never was the hire more due to the ser-
vant, never was penny more due to the labourer,
than death and hell (my just wages) are due to me

242

fiom my sins. But I flee to thy merits; I trust
alone to the value and virtue of thy sacrifice, and
prevalence of thy intercession. I submit to thy
teaching; I make choice of thy government. " Stand
open, ye everlasting doors, that the King of Glory
may come in."

O thou Spirit of the Most High, the comforter
and sanctifier of thy chosen ! come in with all thy
glorious train, all thy courtly attendants, thy fruits
and graces; let me be thine habitation; I can give
thee but what is thine own already: but here, with
the poor widow, I cast my two mites, my soul and
my body, into thy treasury, fully resigning them up
to thee, to be sanctified by thee, to be servants to
thee. They shall be thy patients; cure thou their
malady. They shall be thy agents; govern thou
their motions. Too long have I served the world;
too long have I hearkened to Satan: but now I re-
nounce them all, and will be ruled by thy dictates
and directions, and guided by thy counsel.

O blessed Trinity! O glorious Unity! I deliver
up myself to thee; receive me; write thy name, C)
Lord, upon me, and upon all that I have, as thy pro-
per goods: set thy mark upon me, upon every mem-
ber of my body, and on every faculty of my soul. I
have chosen thy precepts: thy law will I keep in
mine eye, and study to write after. According to
this rule, do I resolve, through thy grace, to walk ;
after this law^ shall my whole man be governed; and
though I cannot perfectly keep one of thy command-
ments, yet I will allow myself in the breach of none.
I know my flesh will hang back; but I resolve, in

243

the power of tliy grace, to cleave to tliee and thy
holy ways, whatever it cost me. I am sure I can-
not come off a loser hy thee, and therefore I will be
content with reproach, and difficulties, and hardships
here, and w^ill " deny myself, and take up my cross
and follow thee." Lord Jesus, thy yoke is easy,
thy cross is welcome ; as it is the way to thee, I lay
aside all hopes of worldly happiness ; I will be con-
tent to tarry till I come to thee. Let me be poor,
and low, and despised here, so I may be but admit-
ted to live and reign with thee hereafter. Lord,
thou hast my heart and hand to this agreement ; be
it as the laws of the Medes and Persians, never to
be reversed. To this I will stand ; in this resolu-
tion, through grace, I will live and die ; " I have
sworn, and will perform it, that " I will keep thy
righteous judgments." I have given my free con-
sent; I have made my everlasting choice. Lord
Jesus confirm the contract. Amen.

L 2

244

CHAPTER VII.

Containing the Motives to Conversion,

Though what is already said of the " necessity of
conversion," and of the " miseries of the uncon-
verted," might be sufficient to induce any consider-
ing mind to resolve upon a present turning or con-
version unto God; yet, knowing what a piece of
desperate obstinacy and untractableness the heart of
man naturally is, I have thought it necessary to add,
to the means of conversion and directions for a
covenant-closure with God and Christ, some motives
to persuade you hereunto.

Lord, fail me not now, at my last attempts. If
any soul hath read hitherto, and is yet untouched,
now. Lord, fasten on him, and do thy work; now
take him by the heart, overcome him, persuade him,
till he say, thou hast prevailed; for thou art stronger
than L Lord, didst thou make me a fisher of men,
and I have toiled all this while, and caught nothing?
Alas! that I should have spent my strength for
nought! and now I am casting my last. Lord
Jesus, stand thou upon the shore, and direct how
and where I shall spread my net; and let me so en-
close with arguments the souls I seek for, that they
may not be able to get out. Now, Lord, for a
multitude of souls! now for a full draught! O
Lord God, remember me I pray thee, and strengthen
me this once, O God!"

24.5

But I turn me unto you.

Men and brethren, heaven and earth call upon
you; yea, hell itself doth preach the doctrine of re-
pentance unto you — the angels of the churches
travail with you — the angels of heaven wait for
you, for your repenting and turning unto God.
Verily, if thou wouldst but come in, the heavenly
host would take up their anthems and sing, " Glory
be to God in the highest;" the morning-stars would
sing together, and all the sons of God shout for joy,
and celebrate this new creation as they did the first.
Thy repentance would, as it were, make a holiday
in heaven, and the glorious spirits would rejoice, in
that there is a new brother added to their society,
another heir born to the Lord, and the lost son re-
ceived safe and sound. The true penitent's tears
are indeed the wine that cherisheth both God and
man.

If it be little that men and angels would rejoice
at thy conversion, know thou that God himself
would rejoice over thee, even with singing, and rest
in his love. Never did Jacob with such joy weep
over the neck of his Joseph, as thy heavenly Father
would rejoice over thee upon thy coming in to him.
Look over the story of the prodigal. Methinks 1
see how the aged father lays aside his state, and
forgetteth his years; behold how he runneth ! O!
the haste that mercy makes ! the sinner makes not
half that speed. Methinks I see how his bowels
turn, how his compassions yearn. How quick-
sighted is love ! Mercy spies him a great way off;
forgets his riotous courses, unnatural rebellion, hor-

246

rid unthankfulness, (not a word of these,) but re-
ceives him with open arms, clasps him about his neck,
kisses his lips that deserve to be loathed, the lips that
had been joined to harlots; calls for the fatted calf,
the best robe, the ring, the shoes, the best cheer in
heaven's store, the best attire in heaven's wardrobe.
Yea, the joy cannot be held in his own breast.
Others must be called to participate: the friends
must meet and make merry; angels must wait, but
the prodigal must be set at table, under his father's
wing; he is the joy of the feast, he is the sweet
object of his father's delight. The friends sympa-
thize, but none knows the felicity the father takes
in his new-born son, whom he hath received from
the dead. Methinks I hear the music and dancing
at a distance. O the melody of the heavenly cho^
risters! I cannot learn the song, but methinks I
overhear the burden, at which all the harmonious
choir with one consent strike sweetly in; for thus
goes round at heaven's table; " For this my son
was dead, and is alive again; was lost and is found."
I need not farther explain the parable : God is the
father, Christ is the cheer, his righteousness the
robe, his grace the ornaments, ministers, saints, an-
gels, the friends and servants, and thou that readest
(if thou wilt but unfeignedly repent and turn) the
welcome prodigal, the happy instance of this grace,
and blessed subject of this joy and love.

O rock! O adamant! what! not moved yet?
not yet resolved to turn forthwith, and to close
with mercy? I will try thee yet once again : If one
were sent to thee from the dead, wouldst thou be

247

persuaded ? Why, hear the voice fVom the dead,
crying to thee that thou shouldst repent: " I pray
thee that thou wouldst scud liim to my father's
house, (for I have five hrethrcn,) that he may testify
to them, lest they also come to this place of* torment.
If one went to them from tlie dead, they will repent."
Hear, O man! tliy predecessors in impenitence
preach to thee from tlie infernal flames, that thou
shouldst repent. O look hut down into the bot-
tomless pit ! seest thou how the smoke of their tor-
ments ascendeth for ever and ever? What thinkcst
thou of those chains of darkness, those instruments
of cruelty? Seest thou liow the worm frnawcth,
how the fire rageth? What sayest thou to that
gulf of perdition? wilt thou take up tiiine habita-
tion there ? O ! hearest thou the curses and blas-
phemies, the weepings and wailings; how they lament
their follies, and curse their day? How do they
gnash their teeth ! how deep are their groans ! how
inconceivable are their miseries ! if the shrieks of
Cora, Dathan, and Abiram, were so terrible (when
the earth clave asunder, and opened its mouth and
swallowed them up, and all that appertained to them)
that all Israel fled at the cry of them — ()! how
fearful would the cry be, if God should take oft' the
covering from the mouth of hell, and let the cry of
the damned ascend in all its terrors among the chil-
dren of men; and of all their moans and miseries,
this is the piercing, killing emphasis and burden,
" for ever, for ever !"

Why, as God liveth that made thy soul, thou
art but few hours distant from all this, except thou
" repent and be converted."

248

O ! I am even lost and swallowed up in the abun-
dance of those arguments that I might suggest. If
there be any point of wisdom in all the world, it is to
repent and come in; if there be any thing righteous,
any thing reasonable, this is it. If there be any
thing in the world that may be called madness and
folly, and any thing that may be counted sottish,
absurd, unreasonable, it is this, " to go on in thine
unconverted state." Let me beg of thee, as thou
wouldst not wilfully destroy thyself, to sit down and
weigh, besides what has been said, these following
motives, and let conscience speak, if it be not rea-
son that thou shouldst " repent and turn."

1 . The God that made thee does most graciously
invite thee.

First, His most sweet and mercifid nature doth
invite thee, O the kindness of God, his yearning
bowels, his tender mercies ! They are infinitely
above our thoughts, higher than heaven, what can
we do ? deeper than hell, what can we know ? " He
is full of compassion, and gracious, long-suffering,
and plenteous in mercy." This is a great argu-
ment to persuade sinners to come in, " turn unto
the Lord your God; for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, of great kindness, and repenteth him
of the evil." If God would not repent of the evil,
it were some discouragement to us why we should
not repent. If there were no hope of mercy, it were
no wonder why rebels should stand out; but never had
subjects sucli a gracious prince, such pity, patience,
clemency, to deal with, as you have: " Who is a
God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity?" O

249

sinners ! see what a God you have to deal with : li
you will but turn, '« he will turn again, and have
compassion on you ; he will subdue your inicjuities,
and cast all your sins into the depths of the sea."
" Return unto me, saith the Lord of hosts, and 1
will return unto you." Sinners do not fail in that
they have too high thoughts of God's mercies, but
in that, 1. " They overlook his justice. 2. They
promise themselves mercy out of God's way:" his
mercy is beyond all imagination — great mercies,
manifold mercies, tender mercies, sure mercies, ever-
lasting mercies; and all is thy own, if thou wilt but
turn. Art thou willing to come in ? Why, the
Lord hath laid aside his terror, erected a throne oi
grace, holds forth the golden sceptre ; toucli and
live. Would a merciful man slay his enemy when
prostrate at his feet, acknowledging his wrong, beg-
ging pardon, and offering to enter with him into a
covenant of peace ? Much less will the merciful
God. Study his name, Exod. xxxiv. 7. Read ex-
perience, Neh. ix. 17.

Secondly, His soul-encouy^aging call aiidpromises
do invite thee. Ah, what an earnest suitor is mercy
to thee ! how lovingly, how instantly, it calleth after
thee ! how passionately it wooeth thee ! " Return,
thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord, and I will
not cause my anger to fall upon you; for I am
merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger
for ever : only acknowledge thine iniquity. Turn,
O blacksliding children, saith the Lord ; for I am
married unto you; return, and I will heal your
backslidings. Thou hast played the harlot with
L 3

250

many lovers; yet return unto me saith the Lord."
" As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no plea-
sure in the death of the wicked, but that he turn
from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from
your evil ways ; for why will ye die, O house of
Israel ?" " If the wicked will turn from all his sins
that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes,
and do that which is lawful and right, he shall sure-
ly live, he shall not die. All his transgressions
that he hath committed shall not be mentioned to
him: in his righteousness that he hath done shall he
live. Repent, and turn you from all your transgres-
sions: so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast
away all your transgressions, and make you a clean
heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O
house of Israel ? for I have no pleasure in the death
of him that dieth, saith the Lord God : wherefore
turn yourselves, and live ye."

O melting gracious words ! the voice of a God,
and not of a man ! This is not the manner of men,
for the offended sovereign to sue to the offending
traitors ! O how doth mercy follow thee and plead
with thee ! Is not thy heart broken yet ? O that
" to-day you would hear his voice !"

2. The doors of heaven are thrown open to thee^
the everlasting gates are set wide for thee^ and an
abimdant entrance into the kingdom of heaven is
administered to thee. Christ now bespeaks thee,
as she her husband : '* Arise, and take possession,"
1 Kings xxi. 15. View the glory of the other world,
as set forth in the map of the gospel ; get thee up into
Pisgah of the promises, and lift up thine eyes north-

251

ward, and southward, and eastward, and westward,
and see the good land that is hcyond Jordan, and that
goodlymountain. Behokl the Paradiseof God, water-
ed with the streams of glory. Arise and walk through
the land, in the length of it, and in the breadth of it:
for the land vvhicli thou secst, the Lord will give it
to thee for ever, if thou wilt but return. Let me
say to thee as Paul to Agrippa, " believest thou the
prophets?" If thou believest indeed, do but view
what glorious things are spoken of the city of God,
and know that all this is here tendered in the name
of God to thee. As verily as God is true, it shall
be for ever thine, if thou wilt but thoroughly turn.
Behold the city of pure transparent gold, whose
foundations are garnished with all manner of precious
stones, whose gates are pearls, whose light is glory,
whose temple is God; believest thou this? if thou
dost, art not thou worse than distracted, that wilt
not take possession when the gates are flung open to
thee, and thou art bid to enter ? O ye sons of folly,
will ye refuse the kingdom ? Behold the Lord
takes you up into the mountain, shows you the king-
dom of heaven and all the glory thereof, and tells
you, " All this will I give you, if you will fall down
and worship me ;" if you will submit to mercy, ac-
cept my Son, and serve me in righteousness and ho-
liness. " O fools, and slow of heart to believe !"
Will you seek and serve the world, and neglect eter-
nal glory? What ! not enter into Paradise, when
the flaming sword, which was once set to keep you
out, is now used to drive you in ! But you will
say, I am uncharitable to think you infidels and un-

252

believers. Why, what shall I think ? Either you
are desperate unbelievers, that do not credit it, or
distracted, that you know and believe the excellence
and eternity of this glory, and yet do so fearfully
neglect it. Surely, you have either no faith or no
reason, and I had almost said, conscience shall tell
you so before I leave you.

Do but attend to what is offered you: O blessed
kingdom; a " kingdom of glory," a " kingdom of
righteousness," a " kingdom of peace," and an
" everlasting kingdom." Here thou shalt dwell,
here thou shalt reign for ever, and the Lord shall
seat thee on a throne of glory, and with his own
hand shall set the royal diadem upon thine head;
and give thee a crown, not of thorns, for there shall
be no sinning nor suffering there — not of gold, but
a " crown of life," a " crown of righteousness," a
'' crown of glory;" yea, " thou shalt put on glory as
a robe," and shalt " shine like the sun in the firma-
ment, in the glory of thy Father." In short, thou
shalt be made like unto the " angels of God," and
" behold his face in righteousness." Look in now
and tell me, dost thou yet believe? if not, conscience
must pronounce thee an infidel; for it is the very
" word of God" that I speak.

But, if thou say thou believest, let me next know
thy resolution. Wilt thou embrace this for thy
happiness? Wilt thou forego thy sinful gains, thy
forbidden pleasures? Wilt thou trample on the
world's esteem, and stop thine ears to her flatteries,
and wrest thee out of her embraces? Wilt thou be
content to take up with reproach and poverty, if

253

they lie in the way to heaven, and follow the Lord
with humble self-denial in a mortified life? If so,
all is thine, and that for ever.

And art thou not fairly offered? Is it not pity
but he should be damned that will needs go on and
perish, when all this may be had for the taking?
Wilt thou take God at his word, and rid thy hands
of thy holdfast of the world, and rid thy hands of
thy sins, and lay hold on eternal life ? If not, let
conscience tell thee whether thou art not distracted
or bewitched, that thou shouldst neglect so happy a
choice, by which thou mightest be made for ever.

3. God will settle unspeakable privileges at pre-
sent upo7i thee. Though the full of your blessed-
ness shall be deferred till hereafter, yet God will
give you no little things in hand.

He will redeem you from your thraldom. The
serpent shall bruise your heel, but you shall bruise
his head. He shall deliver you from the present
evil world. Prosperity shall not destroy you; ad-
versity shall not separate between him and you. He
will redeem you from the power of the grave, and
make the king of terrors a messenger of peace to you.
He will take out the curse from the cross. And
make affliction the fining-pot, to purify the metal.
He will save you from the arrest of the law, and
turn the curse into a blessing to you. He hath the
keys of hell and death, and shutteth that no man
openeth; and he will shut its mouth as once he did
the lions, that you shall not be hurt of the second
death.

But he will not only save you from misery, but

254

install you into unspeakable prerogatives. He will
bestow himself upon you; he will be a friend unto
you, and a father to you. He will be a sun and a
shield to you. In a word, he will be a God to you.
And what can be said more? What may you ex-
pect that a God should do for you, and be to you?
that he will be, that he will do. She that marries
a prince, expects he should do for her like a prince,
that she may live in a suitable state, and have an
answerable dowry. He that hath a king for his
father, or a friend, expects he should do for him like
a king. Alas ! the kings and monarchs of the earth
so much above you, are but like the painted butter-
flies amongst the rest of their kind. As he doth
infinitely exceed the glory and power of his glitter-
ing dust, so he will, beyond all proportion, exceed in
doing for his favourites whatever princes can do for
theirs. He will "give you grace and glory, and
withhold no good thing from you." He will take
you for his sons and daughters, and make you heirs
of his promises, and establish his everlasting cove-
nant with you. He will justify you from all that
law, conscience, Satan can charge upon you. He
will give you free access into his presence, and ac-
cept your person, and receive your prayers. He
will abide in you, and make you the man of his
secrets, and hold a constant and friendly communion
with you. His ear shall be open, his door open,
his store open, at all times to you. His blessings
shall rest upon you, and he will make your enemies
to serve you, and work about " all things for good
unto you."

9,55

4. The terms of mercy are brought as loiv as pos-
sible to you. God has stooped as low to sinners
as with honour he can. lie will not be thought an
author of" sin, nor stain the glory of his hohness:
and whither could he come lower than he hath, unless
he should do this? lie hath abated the impossible
terms of the first covenant. He doth not impose
any thing unreasonable or impossible, as a condition
of life upon you. Two things were necessary to
be done according to the tenor of the first covenant,
by you: 1. " That you should fully satisfy the de-
mands of justice for past offences. 2. That you
should perform personally, perfectly, and perpetually,
the whole law for the time to come." Both these
are to us impossible. But behold God's gracious
abatement in both. He doth not stand upon satis-
faction; he is content to take off the surety (and he
of his own providing too) v/hat he might have exacted
from you. He declares himself to have received a
ransom, and that he expects nothing but that you
should accept his Son, and " he shall be righteous-
ness and redemption to you." And, for the future
obedience, here he is content to yield to your weak-
ness, and omit the rigour. He doth not stand upon
perfection'as a condition of life, though he still insists
upon it as his due, but is content to accept of sin-
cerity. Though you cannot pay the full debt, he
will accept you according to that which you have,
and take willingness for doing, and the purpose for
he performance. And, if you come in his Christ,
and set your hearts to please him, and make it the
chief of your care, he will approve and reward you,
though the vessel be marred in your hands.

'256

O! consider your Maker's condescension; let me
say to you, as Naaman's servant to him, " My father,
if the Prophet had bid thee do some great thing,
would you not have done it? How much rather when
he saith to thee, wash and be clean!" If God had
demanded some terrible, some severe and rigorous
thing of you, to escape an eternal damnation, would
you not have done it? Suppose it had been to spend
all your days in sorrow in some howling wilderness,
or pine yourselves with famine, or to " offer the
fruit of your bodies, for the sin of your souls," would
you not have thankfully accepted eternal redemption,
though these had been the conditions? Nay, farther;
if God should have told you, that you should have
suffered in the fire for millions of ages, or been so long
tormented in hell, would you not have gladly accepted
it ? Alas ! all these are not so much as one sand in
the glass of eternity. If your offended Creator
should have holden you but one year upon the rack,
and then bidden you come and forsake your sins, ac-
cept Christ, and serve him a few years in self-denial,
or lie in this case for ever and ever, do you think you
should have stuck at the offer, and disputed the
terms, and have been unresolved whether you were
to accept of the motion? O sinner, return and live;
why shouldst thou die, when life is to be had for the
taking, when mercy seems beholden to thee (as it
were) to be saved? Couldst thou say, indeed,
** Lord, I knew thee that thou wast a hard man,"
thou hadst some little excuse; but when the God
of heaven has stooped so low, and condescended so
far, if now thou shouldst stand off, who shall plead
for thee?

257

Objection, Notwithstanding all these abatements,
I am no more able to perform these conditions (in
themselves so easy) of faith, repentance, and sincere
obedience, than to satisfy and fulfil the law.

Answe)'. These you may perform by God's grace
enabling; whereas the other are naturally impossible
in this state, even to believers themselves. But let
the next consideration serve for a fuller answer.

5. PV/ierei?i 2/ou are impotent , God doth offer grace
to enable you. " I have stretched out mine hand,
and no man regarded." What though you are
plunged into the ditch of the misery from which you
cannot get out ! Christ offereth to help you out:
he reacheth out his hand to you, and, if you perish,
it is for refusing his help. " Behold I stand at the
door and knock; if any man open to me, I will come
in." What though you are poor, and wretched, and
blind, and naked ! Christ offereth a cure for your
blindness, a covering for your nakedness, a remedy
for thy poverty; he tenders you his righteousness,
his grace. " I counsel thee to buy of me gold, that
thou mayest be rich ; and white raiment, that thou
mayest be clothed; anoint thy eyes with eye-salve,
that thou mayest see. Do you say, the condition
is impossible; for I have not wherewith to buy?
You must know that this buying is " without money
and without price." This buying is by begging
and seeking with diligence and constancy in the use
of God's means. God commandeth thee to know
him, and to fear him. Dost thou say. Yea, but my
mind is blinded, and my heart is hardened, from his
fear? I answer, God doth offer to enlighten thy

258

mind, and to teach thee this fear, that is presented
to thy choice. " For that they hated knowledge,
and did not choose the fear of the Lord." So, tliat
now, if men live in ignorance and estrangement from
the Lord, it is because they " will not understand
and desire the knowledge of his ways." " If thou
criest after knowledge, if thou seekest her as silver,
&c. then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord,
and find the knowledge of God." Is not here a fair
offer? " Turn ye at my reproof; behold I will
pour out my Spirit unto you." Though of your-
selves you can do nothing, yet you may do all through
his Spirit enabling you, and he doth offer assistance
to you. God bids you " wash and make you clean."
You say you are unable, as much "as the leopard to
wash out his spots. Yea, but the Lord doth offer
to purge you ; so that, if you be filthy still, it is
through your own wilfulness. " I have purged
thee, and thou wast not purged." *' O Jerusalem,
wilt thou not be made clean? When shall it once
be r^" God doth wait when you will be made clean,
when you will yield to his motions, accept of his
offers, and let him do for you, and in you, what
you cannot do for yourselves. You do not know
how much God will do, upon your importunity, if
you will be but restless and instant with him.

Though God hath not bound himself, by express
promise to wicked men, to give them grace in the
diligent use of the means, yet he hath given them
abundance of encouragement to expect it from him,
if they seek it earnestly in his way. His most gra-
cious nature is abundant encouragement. If a rich

259

and most bountiful man should see thee in misery,
and bid thee come to his door, wouldst tliou not with
confidence expect, at thy coming, to find some re-
lief? Thou art not able to believe nor repent:
God appoints thee to use such and such means, in
order to thy obtaining faith and repentance; doth
not this argue that God will bestow these upon thee,
if thou dost ply him diligently in prayer, meditation,
reading, hearing, self-examination, and the rest of
his means? Otherwise God would but mock his
poor creatures, to put them upon these self-denying
endeavours, and then, when they have been hard
put to it, and continued waiting upon him for grace,
deny them at last. Surely, if a sweet-natured man
would not deal thus, much less will the most merci-
ful and gracious God.

I intended to have added many other arguments,
but these have swollen under my hands; and I hope
the judicious reader will rather look upon the weight
than number.

260

CHAPTER VIII.

Conclusion.

And now, my brethren, let me know your minds;
what do you intend to do? will you go and die?
or will you set upon a thorough and speedy conver-
sion, and lay hold on eternal life ? How long will
ye linger in Sodom ? " How long will ye halt be-
tween two opinions?" Have ye not yet resolved
whether Christ or Barabbas, whether bliss or tor-
ment, whether the land of Cabul or the Paradise of
God, be the better choice? Is it a disputable case,
whether the Abana or Parphar of Damascus be
better than all the streams of Eden; or whether the
vile stream of sin is to be preferred before the water
of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne
of God and of the Lamb? Can the world in good
earnest do that for you that Christ can? Will it
stand by you to eternity? Will pleasures, land,
titles, treasures, descend with you? If not, had
you not need look after somewhat that will? What
mean you to stand wavering? Shall I lead you at last
no farther than Agrippa? but almost persuaded:
why, you are for ever lost if left here : as good not
at all, as not altogether Christians. You are half
in the mind to give over your former negligent life,
and set to a strict and holy course; you could wish
you were as some others are, and could do as they
can do. How long will you rest in idle wishes and

261

fruitless purposes? When will you come to a fixed,
firm, and full resolve ? Do not you see how Satan
beguiles you, by tempting you to delays ? How long
hath he toiled you on in the way of perdition ! How
many years have you been purposed to mend ! What
if God should have taken you off this while !

Well, put me not off with a dilatory answer: tell
me not of hereafter; I must have your immediate
consent: if you be not now resolved, while the Lord
is treating with you and courting you, much less are
you like to be hereafter, when these impressions are
worn out, and you are hardened through the deceit-
fulness of sin. Will you give me your hand? Will
you set open the door, and give the Lord Jesus the
full and ready possession ? Will you put your names
unto this covenant? Will you subscribe? What
do you resolve upon? If you are still upon your
delays, my labour is lost, and all is like to come to
nothing. Fain I would that you should now put
in your adventures. Come, cast in your lot; make
your choice. " Now is the accepted time; now is
the day of salvation: to-day if you will hear his
voice." Why should not this be the day whence
thou shouldst be able to date thy happiness? Why
shouldst thou venture a day longer in this dangerous
and dreadful condition? What if God should this
night require thy soul ! " O ! that thou mightest
know, in this thy day, the things that belong to thy
peace, before they be hid from thy eyes !" This is
thy day, and it is but a day. Others have had their
day, and have received their doom, and now art thou
brought upon the stage of this world, here to act

262

thy part for the whole eternity. Remember, thou
art now upon thy " good behaviour" for everlasting;
if thou makest not a wise choice now, thou art un-
done for ever. Look what thy present choice is;
such must thine eternal condition be.

And is it true indeed? Are life and death at
thy choice ? Yea, it is as true as truth is. Why,
then, what hinders but that thou shouldst be happy?
Nothing doth or can hinder, but thine own wilful
neglect or refusal. It was the passage of the Eu-
nuch to Philip: " See here is water; what doth
hinder me to be baptized ?" See, I may say to thee,
See, here is Christ, here is mercy, pardon, life ;
what hinders but that thou shouldst be pardoned and
saved? One of the martyrs, as he was praying at
the stake, had his pardon set by him in a box, which
indeed he refused deservedly, because upon unwor-
thy terms; but here the terms are more honourable
and easy. O sinner ! wilt thou perish with thy par-
don by thee? Why, do but forthwith give thy con-
sent to Christ, to renounce thy sins, deny thyself,
take up the yoke and the cross, and thou carriest
the day; Christ is thine; pardon, peace, life, bles-
sedness, are all thine: and is not this an offer worth
embracing? Why shouldst thou hesitate or doubt-
fully dispute about the case? Is it not past con-
troversy whether God be better than sin, and glory
than vanity? Why shouldst thou forsake thy own
mercy, and sin against thy own life ? When wilt
thou shake off thy sloth, and lay by thine excuses?
" Boast not thyself of to-morrow; thou knowest not"
where this night may lodge thee.

263

Beloved, now the Holy Spirit is striving with you ;
he will not always strive. Hast thou not felt thine
heart warmed by the word, and been almost per-
suaded to leave off thy sins and come unto God?
Hast thou not felt some good motions in thy mind,
wherein thou hast been warned of thy danger, and
told what thy careless course would end in ? It may
be thou art like young Samuel, who, when the Lord
called once and again, knew not the voice of the
Lord, but these motions are the offers, and callings,
and strivings, of the Spirit : O ! take the advantage
of the tide, and know the day of thy visitation.

Now the Lord Jesus stretcheth wide his arms to
receive you ; he beseecheth you by us. How mov-
ingly, how meltingly, how pitifully, how compassion-
ately, he calleth ! the church is put into a sudden
ecstacy upon the sound of his voice, the voice of my
beloved. O ! wilt thou turn a deaf ear to his voice?
Is it not the voice that breaketh the cedars, and mak-
eth mountains to skip like a calf? that shaketh the
wildnerness, and divideth the flames of iire? It is
not Sinai's thunder, but a soft and still voice : it is
not the voice of Mount Ebal, a voice of cursing and
terror, but the voice of Mount Gerizim, the voice
of blessing and glad tidings of good things : it is
not the voice of the trumpet, nor the voice of war,
but a message of peace from the King of Peace.
Methinks it should be with thee as with the spouse ;
" My soul failed when he spake." I may say to
thee, O sinner, as Martha to her sister, " The
Master is come, and he calleth for thee." O, now,
with Mary, arise quickly, and come unto him. How

264

sweet are his invitations ! he crieth in the open con-
course, " If any man thirst, let him come unto me
and drink." How free is he ! he excludeth none:
" Whosoever will, let him come and take the wa-
ter of life freely." " Whoso is simple, let him turn
in hither. Come, eat of my bread, drink of the
wine that I have mingled. Forsake the foolish and
live." " Come unto me ; take my yoke upon you,
and learn of me, and ye shall find rest to your souls."
" Him that cometh to me will I in nowise cast
out." How doth he bemoan the obstinate refuser !
" O Jerusalem, Jerusalem ! how often would I have
gathered thy children as a hen gathereth her chick-
ens under her wings, and ye would not !" " Behold
me, behold me ; I have stretched out my hands all
the day to a rebellious people." O ! be persuaded
now at last to throw yourselves into the arms of
love.

Behold, O ye sons of men, the Lord Jesus hath
thrown open the prison, and now he cometh to you,
as the magistrates once to them. Acts xvi. 39. and
beseecheth you to come out. If it were from a pa-
lace or paradise that Christ did call you, it were no
wonder if you were unwilhng; and yet how easily
was Adam beguiled thence ! But it is from your
prison. Sirs, from your chains, from the dungeon,
from the darkness, that he calleth you, and yet will
you not come ? He calls you unto liberty, and yet
will you not hearken ? His yoke is easy, his laws
are liberty, his service is freedom ; and, whatever
prejudices you have against his ways, if a God may
be believed, you shall find them all pleasure and

J

265

peace, and shall taste sweetness and joy unutterable,
and take infinite delight and felicity in them.

Behold, I am loath to leave you; I cannot tell
how to give you over. What ! shall I leave you as
I found you at last? Have you read hitherto, and
not resolved upon a present abandoning all your sins,
and closintr with Jesus Christ? Alas! what shall I
say? what shall I do? Will you turn off all my im-
portunity? Have I run in vain? Have I used so
many arguments, and spent so much time to persuade
you, and you sit down at last in disappointment?
But it is a small matter that you turn me off; you
put a slight upon the God that made you; you reject
the bowels and beseechings of a Saviour, and will be
found resisters of the Holy Ghost ; if you will not
now be prevailed with to repent and be converted.

Well, though I have called you long, and you
have refused, I shall yet this once more lift up my
voice like a trumpet, and cry from the highest places
of the city, before I conclude. Once more I shall
call after regardless sinners, that, if it be possible, I
may awaken them: " O earth, earth, earth, hear the
word of the Lord !" Unless you be resolved to die,
lend your ears to the last calls of mercy. Behold,
in the name of God I make open proclamation to
you: " Hearken unto me, O ye children; hear in-
struction and be wise, and refuse it not."

'' Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the
waters, and he that hath no money: come ye, buy
and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without
money and without price. W^herefore do ye spend
your money for that which is not bread, and your

M

266

labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken dili-
gently unto me, and eat ye that which is good,, and
let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your
ear, and come unto me ; hear, and your soul shall
live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with
you, even the sure mercies of David."

Ho, every one that is sick of any manner of dis-
»ease, or is possessed with an evil spirit, whether of
pride, fury, lust, or covetousness, come ye to the
physician, bring your sick; lo, here is he that " heal-
eth all manner of sicknesses, and all manner of dis-
eases among the people !"

Ho, every one that is in distress from guilt,
gather yourselves unto Christ, and he will become a
Captain over you; he wiU be your protection from
the arrests of the law, he will save you from the
hand of justice. Behold he is an open sanctuary to
you ; he is a known refuge. Away with your sins,
and come in unto him, lest the avenger of blood seize
you, lest devouring wrath overtake you.

Ho, every ignorant sinner, come and buy eye-
salve, that thou mayest see. Away with thy excuses ;
thou art for ever lost, if thou continue in this state.
But accept of Christ for thy prophet, and he wiU be
a light unto thee. Cry unto him for knowledge,
study his v/ord, take pains about the principles of re-
ligion, humble thyself before him, and he will teach
thee his way, and make thee wise unto salvation.
But, if thou wilt not follow him in the painful use
of his means, but sit down because thou hast but one
talent, he will condemn thee for a wicked and sloth-
ful servant.

267

Ho, every profane sinner, come in and live: return
unto the Lord, and he will have mercy on thee; be
entreated. O! return — come: thou that hast filled
thy mouth with oaths and execrations, all manner of
sins and blasphemies shall be forgiven thee, if thou
wilt but thoroughly turn unto Christ and come in.
Though thou wert as unclean as " Magdalen, yet
put away thy whoredoms out of thy sight, and thy
adulteries from between thy breasts," and give up
thyself unto Christ, as a vessel of holiness, alone for
his use; and then, " though thy sins be as scarlet,
they shall be as wool ; and though they be as crim-
son, they shall be white as snow."

Hear, O ye drunkards ! " how long will ye be
drunken? put away your wine." Give yourselves
up unto Christ, to live soberly, righteously, and
godly; embrace his righteousness; accept his govern-
ment; and, though you have been vile, he will wash
you.

Hear, O ye wicked companions, whose delight is
in vain and wicked society, to sport away your time
in carnal mirth and jolHty with them! come in at
wisdom's call, and choose her and her ways, and you
shall live.

Hear, O ye scorners, hear the word of the Lord !
though you make a sport at godliness and the pro-
fessors thereof, though you have made a scorn of
Christ and of his ways, yet even to you doth he call,
to gather you under the wings of his mercy. In a
word, though you should be found among the worst
of the rebellious, yet, upon your thorough conver-
sion, you " shall be washed, you shall be justified,
M 2

268

you shall be sanctified in the name of the Lord Jesus,
and by the Spirit of our God."

Ho, every formal professor! thou art but a luke-
warm Christian, and restest in the form of godliness.
Give over thy halving and thy halting; be a through-
out Christian, and be zealous and repent; and then,
thoui^h thou hadst been an offence to Christ, thou
shalt be the joy of his heart.

And now bear witness that mercy hath been offered
you: " I call heaven and eartli to record against you
this day, that I, have set before you life and death,
blessing and cursing ; therefore choose life, that you
may live." I can but entreat and warn you; I can-
not compel you to be happy; if I could, I would.
What answer will you send me with to my Master?
Let me speak to you as Abraham's servant to them,
" And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my
Master, tell me?" O, for such a happy answer as
Rebecca gave them ! " And they said. We will
call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth; and they
called Rebecca, and said unto her, wilt thou go with
this man ? and she said, I will go." O that I had
but this from you! why should I be your accuser,
who thirst for your salvation? why should tlic pas-
sionate pleadings and entreaties of mercy be turned
into the horrid aggravation of your obstinacy, and
additions to your misery? Judge in yourselves:
Do you not think their condemnation will be doubly
dreadful that shall still go on in their sins, after all
endeavours to recall them. Doubtless " it shall be
more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon, yea, for Sodom
and Gomorrah, in the day of judgment, than for
you!"

269

Beloved, if you have any pity for your perishing
souls, close with the present offers of mercy. If the
God that made you have any authority with you,
obey his command, and come in. If you are not
the despisers of grace, and would not shut up the
doors of mercy against yourselves, repent and ])e con-
verted; let not heaven stand open for you in vain;
let not the Lord Jesus bid you buy without money
and without price in vain ; let not his ministers and
his Spirit strive with you in vain, and leave you now
at last unpersuaded, lest the sentence go forth against
you : " The bellows are burnt, the lead is consumed
of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: reprobate
silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath re-
jected them."

Fatlier of spuits, take tlie heart in hand that is
too hard for my weakness. Do not thou end, though
I have done. A word from thy effectual power will
do the work. O thou that hast the key of David,
that openeth and no man shutteth, open thou this
heart, as thou didst Lydia's, and let the King of
Glory enter in, and make this soul thy captive; let
not the tempter harden him in delays; let him not
stir from this place, nor take his eyes from these
lines, till he resolve to forego his sins, and accept of
life on thy self-denying terms. In thy name, O
Lord God, did I go forth to these labours ; in thy
name do I shut them up. Let not all the time they
have cost be lost hours; let not all the thoughts of
the heart, and all tlie pains that have been about
them, be but lost labour. Lord, put in thy hand
into the heart of this reader, and send thy Spirit, as

^70

once thou didst Philip, to join himself to the chariot
of the Eunuch, while he was reading the word.
And, though I should never know it while I live,
yet I beseech thee, O Ix)rd God, let it be found, at
that day, that some souls are converted by these la-
bours; and let some be able to stand forth and say,
that by these persuasions, they were won unto the€.
Amen, Amen. Let him that readeth say Amen,

COUNSEL FOR PERSONAL AND FAMILY
GODLINESS.

Beloved, I despair of ever bringing you to salva-
tion without sanctification, or possessing you of hap-
piness without persuading you to holiness. God
knows, I have not the least hope ever to see one of
you in heaven, except you be converted and sancti-
fied, and exercise your lives unto godliness. I be-
seech you, study personal godliness and family god-
liness.

I. Personal Godliness. Let it be your first care
to set up Christ in your hearts ; see that you make
all your worldly interests to stoop to him; that you
be entirely and unreservedly devoted unto him. If
you wilfully, and deliberately, and ordinarily, har-
bour any sin, you are undone. See that you un-
feignedly take the law of Christ as the rule of your
words, thoughts, and actions, and subject your whole
man, members, and minds, faithfully to him. If
you have not a true respect to all God's command-

371

ments, you are unsound at heart. O, study to get
the image and impress of Christ upon you withm.
Begin with your hearts; else you build without any
foundation. Labour to get a saving change withm,
ar else all external performances will be to no pur-
pose; aiid then study to show forth the power of
godliness in the life. Let piety be your first and
crreat business: it is the highest point of justice to
^ve God his due. Be^v'are that none of you be a
prayeriess person; for that is a most certain disco-
very that you are a Christlcss and graceless person,
or one that is a very stranger to the fear of God.
Suffer not your Bibles to gather dust. See that you
converse daily with the word. Tliat man can never
lay claim to blessedness whose dehght is not in the
law of the Lord. Let meditation and self-examina-
tion be your daily exercise.

But piety without charity is but the half of Chris-
tianity, or rather impious hypocrisy. We may not
divide the tables; see therefore that you do justly,
and love mercy, and let equity and charity run Hke
an even thread throughout aU your dealings. Be
you temperate in all things, and let chastity and
sobriety be your undivided companions. Let truth
and purity, seriousness and modesty, heaviness and
gravity, be the constant ornaments of your speech.
Let patience and humihty, simpHcity and sincerity,
shine out in all the parts of your conversations. See
that you forget and forgive wrongs, and requite them
with kindness, as you would be found the children
of the Most High. Be mercifld in your censures,
and put the most favourable construction upon your

272

brethren's carriage that their actions will reasonably
bear. Be slow in promising; punctual in fulfilling.
Let meekness and innocence, afFableness, yielding-
ness, and simplicity, commend your conversations to
all men. Let none of your relations want that love
and loyalty, reverence and duty, that tenderness,
care, and vigilance, which their several places and
capacities call for. This is thorough godliness. I
charge you before the most high God, that none of
you be found a swearer, or a liar, or a lover of evil
company, or a scoffer, or malicious, or covetous, or a
drunkard, or a glutton, unrighteous in his dealing,
unclean in his living, or a quarreller, or a thief, or a
backbiter, or a railer; for I denounce unto you from
the living God, that destruction and damnation are
the end of all such.

IL Family Godliness. He that hath set up Christ
in his heart, will be sure to study to set him up in
his house. Let every family with you be a Chris-
tian church, every house a house of prayer. Let
every householder say with Joshua, " I and my
house will serve the Lord," and resolve, with David,
" I will walk in my house with a perfect heart."
Let me press upon you a few duties in general.

First, Let religion be in your families, not as a
matter by-the-by, (to be minded at leisure, when
the world will give you leave,) but the standing busi-
ness of the house. Let them have your prayers as
duly as their meals. Are there any of your fami-
lies, but have time for their taking food? wretched
man! canst thou not find time to pray in?

Secondly, Settle it upon your hearts, that your

273

souls are bound up in the souls of your family.
They are committed unto you: and if they be lost
through your neglect, they will be required at your
hands. Sirs, if you do not, you shall know that the
charge of souls is a heavy charge, and that the blood
of souls is a heavy guilt. O man, hast thou a charge
of souls to answer for, and dost thou not yet bestir
thyself for them, that their blood be not found in thy
skirts? Wilt thou do more for immortal souls than
thou wilt do for the beasts that perish? What dost
thou do for thy children and servants? Thou pro-
videst meat and drink for them agreeable to their
nature; and dost thou not the same for thy beasts?
Thou givest them medicines, and cherish est them
when they are sick; and dost thou not the same for
thy beasts ? More particularly,

1. Let the solemn reading of the word, and sing-
ing of Psalms, be your family exercises. See Christ
singing with his family (viz. his disciples,) Matth.
xxvi. 30.

2. Let every person in your families be duly
called to an account of their profiting by the word,
heard or read, as they are about doing your own
business. This is a duty of consequence unspeak-
able, and would be the means to bring those under
your charge to remember and profit by what they
receive. See Christ's example in calling his family
to account, Matth. xvi. 11, 13, 15.

3. Often take an account of the souls under your
care, concerning their spiritual states; (herein you
must be followers of Christ, Matth. xiii. 10, 36, 51.
Mark iv. 10, 11.) make inquiry into their condition;

M 3

insist much upon the sinfulness and misery of their
natural state, and upon the necessity of regeneration
and conversion, in order to their salvation. Ad-
monish them gravely of their sins ; encourage their
beginnings; follow them earnestly; and let them
have no quiet for you, until you see in them a sav-
ing change. This is a duty of very great conse-
quence, but, I am afraid, most fearfully neglected.
Dotli not conscience say, " thou art the man?"

4. Look to the strict sanctifying of the Sabbath
by all your household. Many poor families have
little time else. O improve but your Sabbath-days
as diligently, in labouring for knowledge and doing
your Maker's work, as you do the other days, in
doing your own work, and I doubt not but you may
come to some proficiency.

5. Let the morning and evening sacrifice of
solemn prayer be daily offered up in all your families.
Beware ye be not found among the famihes that call
not upon God's name : for why should there be
wrath from the Lord upon your families? O miser-
able families, without God in the world, that are
without family prayers ! What ! have you so many
family sins, family wants, family mercies; what !
and yet no family prayers ! How do you pray with
all prayer and supplication, if you do not with family
prayer? Say not, " I have no time." What !
hast thou not all thy time on purpose to serve God
and save thy soul, and yet is this it for which thou
canst find no time ? Find but a heart, and I will
find time. Pinch out of your meals and sleep rather
than want for prayer. Say not, " my business will

275

not give leave:" this is tlie greatest business, to save
thyself and the souls committed to thee. In a word,
the blessing of all is to be got by prayer, and what
is thy business without God's blessing? Say not,
" I am not able." Use the one talent, and God
will increase. Helps are to be had till thou art bet-
ter able. But if there be no other remedy, thou
must join with thine able neighbour; God hath spe-
cial regard to joint prayer, and therefore you must
improve family advantages for the performing of it.

6. Put every one in your families upon private
prayer. Observe whether they do perform it. Get
them the help of a form if they need it, till they are
able to do without it. Direct them how to pray, by
reminding them of their sins, wants, and mercies,
the materials of prayer. This was the practice of
John and Jesus, Luke xi. 1, 2, &c.

7. Set up catechising in your families, at the least
once every week. Have you no dread of the Al-
mighty's charge, that you should " teach these
things dihgently to your children, and talk of them as
you sit in your houses?" and train them up in
the way wherein they should go." Hath God so
commanded Abraham, that he would " teach his
children and household," and that he had many " in-
structed servants," and given such a promise to him
thereupon, and will you not put in for a share,
neither in the praise nor the promise ? Hath Christ
honoured catechising with his presence, and will you
not own it with your practice? Say not, they are
careless and will not learn. What have you your
authority for, if not to use it for God and the good

276

of their souls? You Nvill call them up, and force
them to do your work; and should you not at least
be as zealous in putting them upon God's work ?
Say not, they are dull, and are not capable. If
they be dull, God requires of you the more pains
and patience: but, so dull as they are, you will
make them learn how to work; and can they not
learn how to live? Are they capable of the mys-
teries of your trade, and are they not capable of the
plain piinciples of religion? Well, as ever you
would see the growth of religion, the cure of igno-
rance, the remedy of profaneness, the downfal of
error, fulfil you my joy in going through with this
duty.

Will you answer the calls of divine Providence?
Would you remove the incumbent, or prevent the
impendent calamities? Would you plant nurseries
for the church of God? Would you that God should
build your houses and bless your substance? Would
you that your children should bless you ? O then
set up piety in your families, as ever you would be
blessed or be a blessing. Let your hearts and your
houses be the temples of the living God, in which
his worship (according to all the afore-mentioned
directions) may be with constancy reverently per-
formed. " He that, being often reproved, harden-
eth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that
without remedy."

277

AWAKENING QUESTIONS PROPOUNDED
TO THE UNCONVERTED.

That I may reach every man's case, I shall speak
somethmg to the unconverted and something to the
converted.

For the unconverted there are six questions, which
I would advise them to put to their souls.

Q. I. In w/iat state did my sold come into the
iwrldP Was it not in the state of death? a state of
wrath? Sirs, awake and hethink yourselves where
you are, and whither you are going. While thou
art in thy natural, unconverted, unbelieving state,
all your sins are unpardoned, and the wrath of God
abideth on you. Suppose you saw a poor creature
hanging over a burning fiery furnace, by nothing
but a slender thread like to break every moment,
would not your hearts ache for such a one ? Sirs,
it is your very case. You hang over the gulf of
perdition by nothing but the small thread of life,
which you know not but it may break the next mo-
ment, and then where are you? Is this a case for
you to go on contentedly and thoughtlessly in ?

Q. II. WJiat condition is my soul 710x10 in? Am
I changed and renewed by conversion, or am I not?
Speak conscience, hath this man, this woman, been
thoroughly and savingly changed, both in heart and
life ? Where are your evidences ? Can you show
the marks of the Lord Jesus upon your souls? Let
your conscience answer. Where was the place?

278

what were the means? when was the time that thy
soul was thoroughly renewed ? At least, if you can-
not show the time, place, or means, can you prove
the thing? Can you say with him, One thing I
know, that whereas I was blind, I now see? Sirs,
be not deceived: I tell you, whatever you be, and
whatever you do, nothing will avail you to salvation,
except ye be new creatures.

Q. III. What if I should lose my soul? This is
very possible. Yea, it is the case of most; there are
but few, few of the children of men, that do escape
safe to heaven. Sirs, beware of your danger, and
fear lest a promise being made of your entering into
rest, any of you should at length come short of it.
Suppose a man were to travel through some perilous
wood or wilderness, having but one jewel in all the
world, in which his all was bound up; and should
see some stand on one hand, and some on the other;
and hear a company in this place, and another in
that, crying out, under the hands of some cruel
robbers : O, in what fear would this traveller go, lest
he should lose his jewel, and be robbed of all at
once! Why, thou art the man; this traveller is
thyself; this jewel is thy soul; this wilderness, or
wood, is this world. Thou art to travel through
numerous sins, legions of devils, a whole world of
temptations. These are the robbers that do lie in
wait for thy soul; and, if all that these can do can
keep thee out of heaven, thou shalt never come there.
O ! what if thy pride of worldliness, thy delays and
triflings in religion, should at last betray thy soul
into the robbers' hands ! Other losses may be re-

279

paired; but, thy soul being once lost, Christ is lost:
heaven, all, lost for evermore.

Q. IV. What do I do for my soul F What! have I
a soul, an immortal soul, to care for, and look no
better after it, nor bestow any more of my time or
pains upon it, any more of my thoughts about it !
When Augustus, the Emperor, saw the outlandish
women carry apes, and such strange kind of crea-
tures, in the street in their arms, he asked. What !
have the women in these countries no children ? So
it may be said of many among us, that are early
and late at their worldly business, but let the care
of rehgion lie by neglected — What ! have these
men no souls? Why, man, hast thou a soul, and
yet dost so little in thy closet, so little in thy family,
from day to day, for it? What meanest thou, O
sleeper? Arise, call upon thy God, that thou
j>erish not. What will become of thy soul, if thou
lookest to it only at this careless rate?

Q. V. What if God shoidd this night require thy
scndP Where would death land thee? There was
one that promised himself many merry days and
years, as it is likely thou dost, but that same night
God called for his soul. Sirs, are you in your pro-
per postures? Are you fit to die? O ! dare not to
live, in such a case, in that course m which you are
not fit to die?

Q. VI. What a happy case were I in, if I had but
secured my soul P O ! if this were but once done,
how sweetly mightest thou live ! Then thou might-
est eat thy bread, and drink thy wine with a merry
heart, when assured that God accepteth thee and

280

thy works. Then thou mightest He down in peace,
rise up in peace, go out and come home in peace.
Then thou mightest look death in the face, thou
mightest look dangers in the face, yea, look devils
in the face, and never be afraid. () Sirs ! if there
be any insurance office for souls in all the world, one
would think you should be seeking it.

And thus much for the questions, which, though
of use to all, yet were intended chiefly for uncon-
verted, impenitent souls.

281

COUNSELS FOR THE CONVERTED.

Counsel I. That you put hard to it to get that
by these hazardous opportunities-^ that may quit all
your cost. Wliat pity is it that you shall adventure
much, and yet gain but little ! How dismal would
it be, if you should at last suffer deeply for conscien-
tious attendance upon God in such seasons; and,
when you come into prison, or into banishment, find
that you had not got that by them that would bear
you out I

Counsel II. That you value no meixy barely as it
serves in content to your Jlesh, but as it stands in
order to eternity^ and may serve the furthering your
Make/s glory. God hath preserved your liberties,
and has restored mine. But what of all this? Un-
less we improve our liberties for eternity, what are
we better than those that are in prison, if this be all
the advantage we have, a little more content to the
flesh? The cypher, put to the figure, is of great
signification; but, set by itself, it signifies nothing
at all. These creature-comforts, separated from
their respect to God and eternity are of no value;
but, in order to these ends, they signify much.
We have ease and fulness, when many others are in
pain and poverty ; and we have much the start of
them, if we be wdse to improve our health, in laying
in apace against a sick day, and preparing apace for
eternity, and serve the Lord with more diligence,
and cheerfulness, and gladness of heart, in the

282

abundance of all things. But, if this be all we have
by it, that our bodies do lie a little softer, and our
palates are gratified with a little more delight, what
profit have we by our health and estates ? If they
that are sick or poor, do love the Lord as well, and
serve the Lord as much as we, they have the advan-
tage of us; and better it were for us to be poor and
sick, as they are.

Counsel in. Rest not i7i probabilities f 07' heaveJi^
but labour for certainties. Beloved, certainty may
be had, else the counsel of God to make our calling
and election sure is in vain; else the experience of
the saints were but delusion, who tell us they know
they are passed from death to life ; else the power
of self-reflection were to no purpose, and the spirit
which is in man would not know the things of the
man. Now, if a certainty must be had, will you
not put in for it, and turn every stone that you may
get it ? Sirs, now, if ever, you have need to push
hard to get assurance. We are at miserable un-
certainties for all outward enjoyments; we know not
how soon we may be called to part with them all.
Christians, what do you mean ? Will you be con-
tent to have nothing sure? Will you not settle
your everlasting condition, now you are so unsettled
as to your outward condition ? What will you do
in the day of visitation, when extremity comes in up-
on you, if you have no assurance that God will re-
ceive you. It would make one's heart tremble to
think of being upon such a fearful temptation as to
part with all for Christ, and not to be sure of him
neither. O man, what an advantage will the temp-

283

ter now have upon thee, wiien he shall suggest,
" Wilt thou be such a fool as to let go all at once?
Thou seest heaven is not sure, Christ is not sure ?
therefore keep the world, whilst thou hast it, and
hold what thou hast sure." Beloved, what a fearful
sUghting of God, and contempt of heaven, and
glory, and all the promises, doth this argue, that
you can be content to be at uncertainties, whether
they be yours or not ! How many of you are there
that do not know whether you be going to heaven
OT to hell ! And what desperate carelessness doth
this argue, to go on from week to week in such a
case ! Some hopes you have that you shall do well ;
but put me not off with hopes. Never be satisfied
till you are able to say, not only I hope I shall be
saved, but I know I am passed from death to life ;
*< I know that, when the earthly house of this taber-
nacle shaU be dissolved, I have a building not made
with hands," &c.

Counsel IV. Be not satisfied mth the j^ossession
qf grace, hut reach after the growth. Do not think
all is done when you have obtained the evidence of
grace, but endeavour hard towards the increase. Tliat
person who doth not desire and design perfection,
never came up to sincerity. He that desires grace
truly, desires it not barely as a bridge to heaven, and
so to seek no more, than will just bear his charges
thither ; but he desires it for its own sake, and there-
fore desires the height of it. That person that de-
sires grace only for heaven's sake, and inquires what
is tlie lowest measure of grace that any may have
come to heaven (by which he meaneth but to be

284

saved from misery) upon this design, that, if' he
could but come to that pitch, he would desire no
more; that ,person is rotten at the heart. Chris-
tians, the Lord doth expect of you that you should
not be babes and dwarfs; he looks, now especially,
that you should make some progress. What do
you more than heretofore? Let me commend you
to Paul's study, Phil. iii. 12, &c. It argues a
base and unworthy spirit, to content ourselves with
little things in religion.

Counsel V. Labour that holiness maij become your
nature^ and religion your business. Then you are
come to somewhat indeed in religion, when the work
of God is become your natural and beloved employ-
ment, your meat and drink, your work and wages:
when your tongue and hearts naturally run on God,
as others on and of the world. Much of that mav
be attained by constant care and prayer. Brethren,
let God's work be done by you, not by-the-bye, but
as your greatest business. Seek first the kingdom
of God; and so, whatsoever you do, you may be
able to give that account of yourselves that our Sa-
viour did when they inquired of him, That you are
about your Father's business.

Counsel VL Corifine not religion to your knces^
to carry on an even progress of holiness through
your x<ohole course. Brethren, it is the disgrace of
religion that Christians are so unlike themselves,
unless it be when they are in holy duties. This
wounds religion to the quick, when it shall be said
of professors. These men indeed will pray like an-
gels, but, for aught we can see, they are as peevish

285

and touchy as any other men, and they are as hard
hi their dealings, and make as little conscience of
their words as others do. Beloved, do not think
religion lies only, or chiefly, in praying, hearing, or
reading; lor you must be throughout religious.
Sirs, bring forth your religion out of your closets
into your ordinary course; let there not be a life of
holiness on the outside, but let holiness be woven
into the whole of your conversations. Plerein con-
sists the excellency and difficulty of religion; when
you have the baits of intemperance before you, then
to hold the reins hard, and deny your flesh; when
you have provocation before you, then to bite in your
passions, and bridle the unruly member; when you
have dealings with others, then to proceed by that
golden rule of equity and charity, to do unto others,
as (your consciences tell you) you would have them
to do, in the like case, to you; when you are called
upon by your several relations, then to behave your-
selves with that tenderness and love, with that reve-
rence and obedience, with that courtesy, condescen-
sion, and kindness, that become you in your various
capacities. In this, I say, lies the excellence of
reliffion.

Counsel VII. Ever walk with your end in your
eye. It is true, according to the usual similitude,
the traveller thinks not of his journey's end every
step, nor needs he ; yet there is no traveller but
thinks of it at his setting out. Brethren, there is
nothing hinders but that, with prayer and v>'atchful-
ness, you might come to this, in every solemn action,
to mind God as your chief end. Impose this on

^6

yourselves as your daily rule to walk by, never to lie
down but with these thoughts : " Well, I will make
use of my bed as an ordinance of God, for my na-
tural refreshment, that a servant of his may be fitted
for his work." Never to rise up but with these
thoughts : " I will set forth this day in the name of
the Lord, and make it my business this day through-
out to please him." Never to set about our callings^
but in the entrance think thus, " I will set about
my employment in obedience to God, because it is
his will I should walk with him in my place and
station." Never to sit down at your tables, but
tliinking, " I will now eat and drink, not merely to
feed my body, but to cherish a servant of Christ
Jesus, that he may have strength for his service."
Charge this upon yourselves, and examine in the
evening how you have minded it, and check your-
selves wherein you come short: once learn this, and
you are come to something, and shall have the un-
doubted evidence of your sincerity, and shall know
the experience of that blessed mystery of walking
with God.

Counsel VIII. Be and do more than ordinary in
your families and closets^ now, in the defects of more
public ordinances,

1. In your closets. See that your consciences be
able to bear you witness, that, under God's extraor- I
dinary providences, you do more than ever : in an- '
swer thereto, it may be you prayed twice in the day;
therefore why should you not, at such a time as this
is, make one visit more than ordinary to heaven,
daily to represent before God the calamities of his

287

church? Thus be sure of, that somewhat more
than heretofore must now be done; else God will
look upon himself as intolerably slighted, and upon
his church as most unnaturally neglected, if we do
not now be more earnest. Be more than ever in
self-exammation; God expects that, when he is try-
ing us, we should be much in the trial of ourselves.
And here let me put it to your consciences; How
are your rules for daily examination looked after?
Do you try yourselves by them from day to day?
Ah, wretched negligence ! What ! have you given
your approbation, and passed your promise, and yet
even in such a day as this so much forget your duty?
God expects it of you, that, now you see him angry,
you should, with more zealous fear, and tender cir-
cumspection, and holy watchfulness and self-denial,
walk before him; else you will greatly increase his
indignation, when he sees that you slight his anger.

2. In your families. Christians, now the Lord
calls aloud upon you to set your houses in order.
O see what is amiss in them, and strive to cast out
tliat which may be a provocation ! Three things I
advise you, with reference to your families:

1st, That you set up the solemn exercise of cate-
chising weekly among them. Methinks I would
not question but that, in every godly family, there is
a care of the catechism; but when governors do only
impose it in general upon their famiKes, and occa-
sionally take an account, I find but little progress
is made; and therefore I beseech you to make it a
solemn standing, and constant exercise, and to ex-
pect of your children and servants, as due an account

S88

weekly, of what they have learned of the principles of
religion, as of any business of your own. O, the
incredible benefit that would speedily come of this,
if I could but persuade and prevail with my hearers
in so small a request as this !

2d, That you be often inquiring into their spiritual
states. Follow them close, and let them have no
quiet till you see they seriously mind and seek spiri-
tual things. Put them upon secret prayer. Pro-
vide helps for them till they are able to go without
them. Show them often the necessity of regenera-
tion and conversion, and the nature thereof. Put
them in mind of their fearful misery and unregcner-
ate state. Beloved, it is too sadly evident, that as
the ordinances are now somewhere managed, there is
little conversion-work like to be done. O you go-
vernors of families ! do but your duty in your several
places, and I doubt not but many souls will soon be
born to Christ, even in such a day as this.

3d, Call them to an account for their proficiency
by every opportunity. If there be but a sermon or
a cliapter read, let them give some account of it:
tlms our Saviour, when the disciples (his family)
were in private, was asking them whether they did
understand and profit by what they heard in public.

Counsel IX. Be not discouraged by the present
difficulties of religion, but rather rejoice in the op-
portunity to show your love and loyalty to your
Lord. Do not think God hath dealt hardly with
you, now your religion is like to cost you something,
and presently think of shrinking and drawing back
to preserve your safety. If you love the Lord Jesus,

289

you should rejoice and be exceeding glad in the op-
portunity to show it. Brethren, what hath your
rehgion cost you hitherto? " Then, for shame, suf-
fer not your shrinking and witlidrawing to tell tlie
world you have not love enough for Christ to engage
you to run any hazard for him. Do you indeed
love the Lord? O then now rejoice and be exceed-
ing glad; for never had you such an opportunity in
all your lives to show your love as now, for never
were you called to venture so for him and his service
as now you are. Now resolve that, if religion will
make you vile, you will yet be more vile, and let
your zeal and resolution for God be increased and
heightened by the opportunity.

290

SACRAMENT CORDIALS FOR THE
CONVERTED.

NOW DEARLY BELOVED BRETHREN,

This holy sacrament is appointed as a sealing ordi-
nance between Christ and you. The covenants are
made; the terms are agreed to on both sides; God
is willing to be yours to all intents and purposes,
your refuge, your rest, and your guide. While
Christ has it, you shall never want; and what God
is to him, that he, in your order, will be to you.

You again, through grace, are willing to be his :
his in his own way, and on his own terms; willing
to serve him; willing to be betrothed to him, and
to be commanded by him, to use his remedies, to
follow his counsels, and to acquiesce in him as your
blessedness: thus all are agreed; the articles are
drawn; the covenants both on God's part and yours,
are ready written ; and here you may come to put
all past controversy, and mutually to sell and sub-
scribe. O happy and blessed meeting ! Christians,
do not forget your errand; remember where you are,
and what you are come for; and know that you are
upon the most solemn transaction that ever passed
between the Creator and the creature. It is God's
admirable condescension that he will be united to us,
and enter into bonds to us, to bless us and reward
us; and because our faith is weak, he hath brought
his surety with him, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is
a surety on his part, as well as ours, to undertake

291

for his fulfilling his promises. And he hath brought
the visible signs and pledges by which all shall be
firmly passed and ratified before your eyes. This
is the new testament in my blood, written in my
blood, ratified in my blood. O, sirs, this is that
which God doth here reach forth unto you with his
own hand this day! the new testament in Christ's
blood! Christians, prepare your ears, and rouse up
your faith, and now believe and hear some of the
blessed articles of that covenant which God doth
here sign and seal to you. I shall mention only
nine, which I advise you to lay next your hearts,
while you have a day to live, and you shall find the
virtue of these cordials strong and operative in all
conditions.

Art. I. Jliat Jic iinll fulfil to you the place of all
relations, I will be a father to you, you shall be
my sons and daughters. Whatever children may
expect from a father, that you may look for from
me. I will find you meat, be not thoughtful, I
know that you have need of all these things. You
shall be clothed out of my wardrobe, and wear my
livery: and when you have need of correction, I
will remember to do it in mercy? and you shall find,
that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord
your God chasteneth you.

I will be a Husband to you, and will betroth you
to me for ever. You shall not need to fear, your
Maker is so: I will give you my choice love, I will
give you my heart.

I will be a Lord and Sovereign to you: the Lord
is your Judge, the Lord is your Lawgiver, the Lord
N 2

29^

is your King. Fear not the unrighteousness of
men : I will judge your cause, I will defend your
rights; you shall not stand or fall at man's bar; you
shall not be cast at their votes: let them curse, I
will bless; let them condemn, I will justify. Who
shall accuse when I shall acquit? Who shall lay
any thing to your charge, when I do discharge you?
When you come upon trial for your life, to have
your eternal state decided, you shall see your friend,
your Father, on the bench; and you shall surely
stand in judgment, and be found at the right hand,
among the sheep, and hear the King say. Come ye
blessed.

I will be a Shepherd to you: fear no evil, for I
am with you. You shall not want, for I will feed
you. You shall not wander to be lost, for I will
restore you. I will cause you to lie down in green
pastures, and lead you beside the still waters. If
my officers be careless, I will do it myself. As for
you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord God, I will
judge between cattle and cattle: I will feed my flock,
saith the Lord God, and cause them to lie down; I
will seek that which was lost, and bring again that
which was driven away, and bind up that which was
broken, and strengthen that which is sick. But I
will destroy the fat and the strong, and will feed
them with judgment.

I will be a Physician to you, I will heal your
backslidings, and cure all your diseases ; fear not ;
never did soul miscarry that left itself in my hands,
and would but follow my prescription.

Well, this is one of the articles that God here

293

sealeth to, that he will be to you in tlie phice of all
relations. Silence, thou quarrelling unbelief. Me-
thinks I hear thy whispers, that this is too good to
be true; that it were presumption in us to count
upon all this. What ! shall they, that must say to
corruption. Thou art my father, be able to say to
the incorruptible God, Thou art my Father? Shall
they, that must say to the worm, thou art my mother
and my sister, be able to say to the angels of light,
ye are my fellow-servants, and to the King of glory,
thou art ray brother and my kinsman? Shall Ma-
jesty espouse himself to misery, and the worms' meat
be married to immortality and life? How can these
things be?

Nay, but O heart of unbelief, what art thou that
repliest against God? Dost thou, under a sly pre-
tence of humility, argue with thy Maker, and call
veracity into doubt? Is not this his word, his pro-
mise, his covenant? and is there not his seal? Whv
then dost thou doubt, O thou of little faith?

Art. II. That he isoill entitle you to all the di-
vine petfectioiis : " I will be a God to thee." God
gives away himself, and he gives his Son to you:
" I will give thee for a covenant of the people."
This is the church's triumph, " Unto us a Son is
given." And he gives his Spirit to you : " He
shall give you another Comforter." And believers
acknowledge the receipt: " We have received the
Spirit which is of God." Thus you see all the per-
sons of the Godhead are made over to you, and so
are all the perfections of the Godhead : and so the
covenant runs, " I am the Almighty God, or the

294

all-sufficient God; walk before me and be upright."
These are the terms between God and a behever:
"Be thou upright before me, and I will be all-suffi-
cient to thee." The all-sufficiency of God is the
comprehension of all his perfections. Truth with-
out power, or power without wisdom — ^both without
goodness, would not be ail-sufficiency. All-suffi-
ciency takes in all that is in God, (if we may speak
of God's most simple essence according to the shal-
low reach of our present capacity) yea, it compre-
hends infinitely more than can be said or thought.
Why now, this is the covenant of grace which God
establishes with you this day, that he will be a God
all-sufficient to you.

Christians, rouse up your faith, now appropriate
and apply the promises, now believe strongly and
steadfastly ; and believing will fill you with joy un-
speakable and full of glory. I do not wonder if your
faith be put to it, in so great and high a mystery, to
draw nigh to infinite Majesty, and consideringly and
without resistance to s^iy thou art mine, and all that
thou hast" — this is no easy thing. But thou mayest
not dare to doubt it. Canst thou question him who
is the truth? Can the strength of Israel lie, or in
his word deceive thee? But the soul is ready to
reply, O ! the thing is too high and great for me
to presume and believe! and is ready, with Peter as-
tonished, to cry out, " Depart, Lord, for I am a sinful
man." But why doth thy hand tremble, and thy
heart fail thee, and thy feet, with Peter's, when
walking on the water, begin to sink? What dost
thou halt at? Is it at the truth of the promises?

^95

Xo, saith he, trembling soul, but sure so much
can never belong to me so sinful; I am afraid it is
not mine. Why, what saith the promise? Only
be upright. What, though thou hast a hundred
failings, yet thy heart is upright; the bent of thy
heart is mainly for God and holiness ; thou makest
conscience of all sin, little as well as great, secret
as well as open, and dost not deliberately allow thy--
self in any. Thou dost, in the settled frame of thy
heart, prefer the pleasing of God, and value his fa-
vour and fellowship, above all worldly good, there-
fore thou art upright: these marks are infalHble.
What ! dost thou object thy failings? Art thou
under a covenant of vrorks ? Do ye think God now
stands upon perfection? The covenant is plain:
God contendeth for uprightness, and God hath
wrought in thee that condition that he requires of
thee. What can be plainer? Wilt thou suffer the
devil and unbelief to catch the blessino; out of thv
hand, when God tells thee it is thine? W'ilt thou
be against thyself, and refuse thine own peace, when
God is come to seal thee up to the day of redemp-
tion ? This is that which the Lord here seals to
thee, that he will be a God all-sufficient to thee. O,
believe and be thankful, and rejoice in thy own bles-
sedness! O happy, thrice happy souls, to whom
the living God thus signeth and sealeth, and assigns
over all his infinite perfectionsj as their everlasting
possession !

Art. III. That he lii'Il discharge you from all
your debts. This is the covenant; " I will be merci-
ful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and ini-

296

quities will I remember no more. Though your
sing be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.
Believest thou this? Come near, beloved Christian,
approach believingly, and here thou shalt see the
Lord obliterating all thy debts, taking away the
hand-writing that is against thee, declaring that he
liath received a ransom, and he is satisfied, contented,
and paid. O happy man, that shalt leave all thy
sins behind thee! Why, this is the very thing the
faithful God doth hero seal unto thee. Thy pardon
is written in his most sacred blood, which is here
shed for the remission of sins; so that thou may est
triumph with the Apostle, " Who is he that con-
dcmneth? It is Christ that died."

Art. IV. That he *will save you from all your
enemies. Not from the combat, but from the con-
quest: the victory shall be sure, so far as God is
engaged. So the covenant runs in its first discovery,
that the seed of the woman shall break the serpent's
head, though he should bruise his heel. By the
seed of the woman understand not Christ only; but
all believers. By the serpent, understand not Sa-
tan only; but all his party, the ungodly persecuting
world, which are his children; and all our tyrannical
lusts, which are his works. By his bruising our
heel, understand his molesting and wounding us,
but not mortally. By our breaking his head, un-
derstand the total and final victory which we shall
most certainly obtain over him and his party at last.
Christians, what should we fear? Death ! the co-
venant here sealed makes over death as a legacy to
you; and bohold it brings the head of your con-

297

quered enemy in a chnrger. Death is yours; O
blessed and most grateful present ! The covenant
assures you God will bruise Satan under your feet
shortly. The world! be of good cheer, Christ hath
overcome the world. Hell! there is no condemna-
tion for them that are in Christ Jesus. Sin ! this
is indeed to be dreaded, but with a watchful and
cautious fear, not with a fainting, discouraging fear.
Sin shall not have dominion over you.

Christians, here is support now for your faith-
What ! do all these holy promises nothing move you,
or carry little savour or relish with them? What!
shall the Almighty God give it to thee, under his
own hand, that thou art a freeman, and thoumakest
little account of it ? Shall he give thee thy protec-
tion, and thou lay it by as a useless paper that
signifieth little? O sirs! when your hearts are
ready to faint, because of the sons of Anak, that be
in the way; when you see the king of terrors level-
ling at you, and a wicked world armed with rage
against you, and full of malice, and the thieves and
conspirators in thy bosom watching their opportunity
to betray all to them; yet let not this discourage
you. These were enough indeed to make a consi-
derin<r man's heart to melt and die within him: but
that covenant of grace yields such ample relief against
all! O be ever mindful of the covenant! Re-
member what hath passed this day between the liv-
ing God and your souls. Watch, O Christian, and
stand fast ! acquit tliee like a man. The conquest
is sure. Who would not fight with courage that
hath assurance of the victory ?
N3

298

Art. V. Tlmt lie will befriend you in all condi-
tions. He will be a fast friend to you in every
change, and turn all things to your good: and, when
you are ready to say unbelievingly, with Jacob, " All
these things are against me." " If he brings you
into the wilderness, there he will speak comfortably
unto you. In the fire and the water he will be with
you. He will be a strength to the poor, a strength
to the needy in his distress; a refuge from the
storm, and a shadow from the heat, when the blast
of the terrible one is as a storm against the wall."

Beloved, here the Lord is come to seal all these
promises to you. O go home and bless yourselves
in the sweet security of your state ! God hath
promised you, that whatever condition you be in^
you shall have succour and support from him, and
enjoy his presence with you, and see his finger, in
all your troubles, sweetly turning all for the best.
Go away and live like believers; be not afraid of
sufferings, but show that you believe what God hath
promised, that afiliction shall not hurt you. The
next time any trouble comes upon you, remember
what a promise God hath passed upon you this day,
and wait on him believingly for the happy issue and
event of every trial that shall befal you.

Art. VI. That he mil take ujjon him the care of
all your concerns. " You must be careful in no-
thing. He careth for you: take no thought what
ye shall eat or drink, neither be of doubtful mind;
but rather seek ye the kingdom of God, and all these
things shall be added unto you." Come ye to this
holy ordinance in any distress or trouble: methinks

299

you should go from it as Hannah, and your counte-
nance be no more sad: " God shall number your
hairs, and take care that nothing be lost. He will
take care of your names, and bring forth your righ-
teousness as the light. He will take care of your
substance, he will give meat to them that fear him,
and be ever mindful of his covenant: of your seed,
for he will be a God to them, and will entail the
blessing on them." He commands that your widows,
and fatherless children should be left on him. He
is, by covenant, to look after their concerns: you
need not be solicitous; he is tender of you, when he
seems most to neglect you; as Moses' sister, that
was secretly watching behind the bush, and wishingly
looking on, to see what was done to the child;
though, to the finders, it seemed exposed to famine
and death in the flags.

Art. VII. That he "will give you, or be himself to
you, instead of all comfort, " He will be a sun and
a shield, and give grace and glory, and no good
thing will he withhold from them that walk up-
rightly." O ! the treasure that is in these words,
" I am thy shield and exceeding great reward. I
will undertake both for thy protection and provision :
when evil assails thee, I will be a shield to thee;
when any good is wanting, I will be a supply; thou
shalt have children, or I will be better to thee than
ten children; thou shalt have riches, or I will be
thy store; thou shalt have friends, if best for thee,
or else I will be thy comforter in thy solitude, thy
counsellor in thy distress; my secrets, my ears, and
my doors, shall be ever open to thee. He shall receive

300

a hundred fold in this time: though he have not
the things themselves, yet he shall have all these,
and more than all in me; I will be house, friend,
and fiither to him, all in one." If you should have
a hundred candles burning in the room, and should
put out every one, and open the window, and let in
the sun, this would be better than the hundred lights
that were put out; so here, though thou shouldstbe
called on to forsake all, it will be but as letting the
cistern run, and opening the fountain.

Art. VI 1 1. That he xmll maintain you all your
days in his service. "He will be your guide even
unto death." Christian, whilst thou hast a day to
live, God will stand by thee : he " will never leave
thee, nor forsake thee. Surely goodness and mercy
shall follow you all the days of your lives, and the
Lord will never turn away from you to do you
good." O happy covenant that the Lord sealeth to
you !

Art. IX. That "eohen you come of age, he xvill
give the kingdom to you. God saith to the believer
here, thine is the kingdom; whatever is promised in
the covenant is sealed in the sacrament. It is your
Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
I appoint unto you a kingdom. Mark the promise
pregnant with a kingdom ; it is no less than a crown,
a kingdom, that is here delivered to you. A certain
nobleman went into a far country, to receive to him-
self a kingdom, and to return : this is the business
you are come hither for, to receive to yourselves a
kingdom, and so to return. O ! methinks, you should
forget the ground you go upon as you are going home,

301

to think what you have received here : methinks, you
should go forth as Haman from the banquet, joyful
and with a glad heart. Sirs, do you know what
you are doing? Why, the Lord doth by these
signs give you the kingdom, as a man, by delivering
to you a turf or a key, gives possession of a house
or land. Brethren, have you ever read of the king-
dom of joy, of the crown of life, of the robes of
righteousness, of the throne of glory? Why all
these God here makes over to you. I tell you,
Sirs, these are not big words, nor cunningly devised
fables ; God Almighty is here come to certify you
of the reality of his promises : as sure as you now
sit on your seats, you shall shortly sit on your
thrones : as sure as you are now clothed with flesh,
so surely shall you be clothed with glory. Are you
sure you are now on earth ? So surely shall you be
shortly in heaven : the Lord intendeth you but for
a very little while in this lower region ; you must
dwell above : where Christ is, there must you be
also ; as sure as you now see a crucified Christ, so
surely shall you see a glorified Christ. The Lord
Jesus doth anticipate his sentence here, and calls to
you his guests. Come, ye blessed, inherit the
kingdom; take the writings, hold the seals, here
are the conveyances of the kingdom; the donation
is sure and full, unalterable, irrevocable.

Christians, do you believe? If you do, methinks,
you should be ravished; methinks, you should be
filled with joy unspeakable, and full of glory. But
do you stagger at the promise through unbelief? Do
you say, O it is too much and too great! Why, how

302

can this be ? What ! too great for God to make good?
Thou darest not think so. But it is too srreat for
me to count upon. Why, but man, dost thou not
bear upon thee the mark of the Lord Jesus? Whose
image and superscription is this? Doth not your
very heart prize Christ above all the world? Hast
thou not made a deliberate choice of him for thy
head and husband? Hast thou not entered into a
solemn contract with him, to be his for all times
and conditions, and to love, honour, and obey him, be-
fore all others, to thy death? And doth not thy heart
stand to all its choice? Hast thou not taken him,
with his yoke and with his cross? And dost thou
not, in thy practice, first seek the kingdom of God
and the righteousness thereof? And hast thou not
chosen the way of the kingdom? Art thou not in
love with holiness, and desirest grace more than
gold? Dost thou not prefer a holy spiritual life,
before all the grandeur of the world, and the plea-
sures of the flesh? And all this, not only for a fit,
or flash, but in the settled frame and disposition of
thy heart? Surely thou must wrong God and thy-
self, if thou deniest it to be thus with thee. Why,
these are the marks of the Lord Jesus upon thee,
the sure marks. Fear not, these cannot deceive
thee; they evidence that thou art born of God, that
thou art a son, and so an heir, and therefore may
lay claim to the inheritance.

Come, then, beloved Christian, be of good com-
fort, why shouldest thou doubt? Thou hast the
mark of the sheep, and therefore thy portion shall
be at the right hand, and thy sentence among the

303

blessed. Well, then, receive this holy sacrament
as the pledge of all this. Go home and look over
all these blessed promises, and count them thine.
Do not read them (as too often heretofore) as if
they did not concern thee. Remember what God
hath here promised under hand and seal to thee,
and let not all be left behind thee, v/hen thou goest
hence, but let the remembrance, the sweet fruit of
them, abide upon thee whilst thou hast a day to live.
Never forget what the Lord hath here spoken to
thy soul: make more of the promises than ever in
thy life before; bless thyself in them; remember
how the Lord delivered thee the promises; how he
sealed to thee several articles; how he sprinkled the
blood upon the book of the covenant, and gave it
thee, and said, this is the new testament in my blood.
O! live henceforth a life of joy and faith, as a man
that is elevated above the world; do not live at the
old dull and slothful rate; carry it as a believer;
and, in a word, walk as one that doth indeed take
all for truth that the Lord Jesus hath spoken to thee
this day. Let that of the Apostle be a close to all —
'* Having, therefore, these promises, dearly beloved,
let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness, both of
flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of
God!"

CASES OF CONSCIENCE.

FOUR
PRACTICAL CASES OF CONSCIENCE

SATISFACTORILY RESOLVED.

CASE L

THE SINGULAR DUTIES OF CHRISTIANS.

A Case of Conscience on Matthew v. 47.

" What do ye more than others?"

Q. 1. Wherein should Christians be singulai-
ill their obedience? or what may and must they do
more than others?

A. Take the answer of these sixteen rules con-
taining the character and compass of a Christian.

Rule I. Heartily to love them that slight yon,
and wish and seek the good, of those that hate you
and seek to hurt you. This is the very thing urged
in the text. " If you salute your brethren only, and
love them that love you, do not even the publicans
the same?" To love them that do respect and value
us, is what every one can do; but to love them that
think meanly of us and have prejudice and hard
thoughts against us, and to speak well of them that
speak evil of us, as the sweet-spirited Calvin, " let
Luther call me dog or devil, I will say of him, never-

308

theless, he is a precious servant of Christ Jesus:" this
is to do more than others. Thus the martyr Cran-
mer, of whom it was a proverb, " Do the Bishop of
Canterbury a displeasure, and you shall ever have
him your friend." Thus that holy man, in his
much to be lamented parting words, " I had never
any greater pleasure, in all my life, than to forget
and to forgive injuries, and to show kuidness to
them that sought evil to me." Study to keep up
good thoughts of those who have offended and dis-
obhged you, and slighted you, and (if the cause
will bear it,) speak nothing but good of them, and
think what kindness you may sliow them. Pray
for them; wish well for them; so shall you be the
children of your Father which is in heaven.

Rule II. To sxvim against the stream of the mul- ,
titude. The dead fish will swim with, but the liv-
ing against the stream. Many will turn Jews when
their interest will carry it in the world; when reli-
gion is in fashion, every one will be in it: but to bear
head against the current of the times, and to be for
strict godliness in all your ways, when the stream
runs quite against it, to bear it down, and to resolve,
as David did, to be yet more vile, this is to be and
to do more than others. The Samaritans will need
be Jews when Alexander favours and lielps them;
but when Antiochus bloodily rages against them,
(as in the time of the Maccabees,) then they will be
none of the kin, but pretend themselves to be of
another stock (which by the way, was the reason of
the deadly hatred afterwards between the Jews and
them): but to be singular in your good choice and

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resolutions, with Joshua, though all should vote
against you with one consent; and, with Noah, to
be perfect in our generations, when ever so adulter-
ous, and to walk with God when all flesh have cor-
rupted their way and tread a contrary course; this
is to do more than others. Thus, the three chil-
dren, or rather three champions, who would not fear
the scorn of the multitude, nor the frowns of the
great ones, nor the charge of singularity, but when
all the princes, governors, captains, counsellors,
sheriffs, and all the people, nations, and languages,
fell down and worshipped, stood by themselves, and
would not sinfully comply.

Rule III. To take more care qf that "jcJiich is
most out of sight, A Christian's eye is most on the
things least seen: first upon his heart; herein doth
he exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees, whose
great care was to keep all fair and clean that came to
view, but looked no farther. Make great conscience
of your carriage in secret, and let your main guard
be upon your hearts, and this will be more than
others reach to. This was Paul's care, to keep his
conscience clean and undefiled, and Job's care, that
though all the world did reproach him, he mio-ht not
put a reproach in the mouth of his conscience, and
David's care, that his heart might be clean. 2. On
I his hope. Others look to the things seen, things in
I hand; but the true believer eyes his hopes, walks by
I faith, not by sight, and lives a quite different life
from any other in the world besides; as living upon
the hopes of heaven doth differ from living on the
pleasures, profits, and honours of the world.

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Rule IV. To he merciful to others^ failings^ and
very severe to our oivn. The noble Roman, Cato,
could more easily forgive any than himself. To ag-
gravate our own evils, and to have an excuse ready
for our brother's, and to censure ourselves freely,
and to come with the mantle behind us to cover our
brother; this is to do more than others. The hypo-
crite is a censor abroad; he is like the eye that can
see any thing, but himself; he can discern a mote
in his brother's eye, but not a beam in his own.
The servant of God rebukes others with meek-
ness: but he falls out easily and bitterly with him-
self.

Rule V. To S7iffer rather than to sin. This was
Moses' choice: but the hypocrite's is quite contrary;
he chooseth iniquity rather than affliction. To go
so far with Christ as our way lies together, is to do
no more than an unsound professor may reach to:
the trial is, when Christ's interest and ours do cross,
and we must either neglect our duty, or our safety
and advantage. The famous martyr under Julian,
would not give one halfpenny towards the building
of the idol's temple, though he was offered his life
by the emperor on these terms. The godly high-
priest, Eleazer, when the nobles persuaded him to
eat other meat under colour of swine's flesh, and
they would persuade king Antiochus that he liad
eaten swine's flesh, would die rather than stain his
profession with the appearance of evil. When a man
shall be exposed to misery, and have a door of deliv-
erance open, if he will but sin. and yet he will not
accept of it, as those worthies in Paul's martyrology;
this is to do more than others.

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Rule VI. To rejoice in losses for Christ, and glory
in the c?oss. When others are discouraired at
the news of hardships, as that forward and seeming-
ly resolved disciple; or shall be offended as soon as
the sun of persecution is up; when we shall take
pleasure in infirmities, and tribulations, and rejoice
that we are counted worthy to suffer shame for the
name of Christ; this is to do more than others.
When the servants of God shall not only patiently
and triumphantly undergo the crosses that wound
( the heart of others, and shall shake off the viper
I without receiving any hurt; when Paul and Silas
shall sing in the stocks, and the resolved martyrs
shall embrace the fagots and kiss the stake; when
the vahant pilot shall say of his prison, " In the
judgment of the world we are in hell, but I find in
it the sweet consolation of heaven;" and the holy
Bradford, " My prison is sweeter to me than any
parlour, than any pleasure I have had all my life ;"
.this is indeed to exceed others.

Rule VII. To he good "dcheit ive shall be evil
spoken of for our labour. A Pharisee will do those
duties that gain applause of men : but, to take up
witii despised duties, disgraceful duties, and, with
David, to be religious when it shall render him vile;
this is to do more than others. The philosopher
could say, " It is noble indeed for a man to do well,
when he knows he shall bear ill for it." To take
up religion when every one throws it off; to stand
up alone, with Luther, for the truth, when the whole
world is gone wandering after the whore; to have his
hand against every man, and to be for Christ, with

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Athanasius, against the whole universe ; this is in-
deed to do some singular thing.

Rule VIII. To strike in "jcith God's interest
when it is falling. To join ourselves with the Lord's
people when it is the weakest; to espouse their in-
terest, with Moses, when they were in deep afflic-
tion. To own ourselves to he some of them un-
dauntedly, when this way is everywhere spoken
against, this is to tread antipodes to the course of
this world.

Rule IX. To be most cruel to the sin that is na-
turally most dear. The hypocrite hides his sweet
morsel under his tongue ; he spares, as it were, the
fattest of the cattle; he saith, the Lord pardon his
servant concerning this thing; but when a man shall
off with his right hand, out with his right eye, serve
his Absalom as Joab did when he took three darts
and thrust through his heart, this is to do more than
others. The sincere Christian is most angry with
the sin of his temper; against this he aims the ar-
rows of all his prayer. He keeps him from his ini-
quity; he drives the whole herd of sin before him;
but especially he shoots at, and singles out this, to
run it down.

Rule X. To live upo7i the divine promises, 'when
others live upon their possessions. Others are all
for what is in hand; with them words are but wind;
they cannot live upon them; the promises are to them
a barren heath, or dry breasts. But, when we make
the promises our heritage, the staff of our life, the
life of our hearts; when the promises are the cordial
wc run to in all our fainting; and, while others hope

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in their wealth, our hope is in the word; this is to
do more than others.

Rule XI. To love that best, and choose it soo?iest
that doth cross the Jlesh most. The godly man's
rule is, to take the self-denial side, so he be sure it
be safe. When others study to please themselves,
he to curb himself. The life of others is a flesh-
pleasing, his a self-denying life. Others' joy is
when they can gratify themselves; his, when he can
get the victory over himself.

Rule XII. To be most zealous in that "dohei^ein self
is least concerned. Paul is meek as a lamb under
personal injuries, but how is his spirit stirred when
God is dishonoured ! A man of understanding is
of a cool spirit, that is, in his own concern; but Mo-
ses the meek waxes hot with indignation at the sight
of the calf. To be hot and forward in those duties
where the interest of the flesh is not concerned, is to
do more than a Jehu.

Rule XIII. To make a true conscience of the least
sin, but most conscience of the greatest. In one of
these will the hypocrite be found tardy. It may be
he will fly from open sins, and startle at gross star-
ing sins, but of little sins he makes little conscience;
these he allows of, and connives at. Or else he will
be very tender of little things; scruple the picking
of ears of corn on the Sabbath-day, or the curing of
the sick, and strain at the gnat, when he will in other
things swallow a camel, and devour widows' houses.
The sincere will indulge no sin ; grieves for, groans
under, cries out feelingly against his very infirmities,
but most dreads what God hates.

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Rule XIV. To allonsi yourselves in the neglect of
no duty^ hut to reserve your zeal for the duties of
most weight. To tithe mint and cummin, and nog-
lect judgment, mercy, and faith; to be zealous for
human ceremonies and men's traditions, and omit
the weightier matters of the law, is the right Phari-
see's guise. To eye both the tables; to join sweet-
ly together morality and piety; to be punctual with
men, but not careless with God; to give Caesar the
things that are Caesar's, but first to give to God
the things that are God's; this is to do more than
others. The sincere Christian has respect to all
God's commandments; walks in all his statutes:
he is throughout with God, but be most zealous in
these things that lie next the heart of religion.

Rule XV. To love your reprovers. Herein
David doth more than Ahab. See their contrary
frames, I Kings xxii. 8. Psalm cxli. 5.

Rule XVI. To subject all your worldly interest
to your Maker's glory ^ and perform holy duties with
holy ends; and, while others do their best actions
with carnal aims, you must do your common and civil
actions with heavenly aims.

Q. How may we know whether we are^ and do,
more than others that are unsound?

I shall answer this question by propounding eight
questions to you, beseeching you to retire to the most
solemn and strict examination, and make conscience
give a clear answer to these few interrogatories; and
that will resolve the case.

Q. I. When others pick and choose^ have you re-

315

sped to all God's commandments P The hypocrite
may have great respect to the comforts, but he hath
little to the commands of religion: he is much for
the privileges and promises, little for the precepts
and duties: he is partial in the law; he will take
but here and there, where he likes; and, where God
commands, will sever his interest, or at least, will
not press too hard upon the flesh. The sound
Christian sets all God's commands before him; he
eyes all his copy, and heartily designs and studies a
throughout conformity: he has no contrived haunts;
nor doth he halt between the Lord and Baal, nor serve
two masters; he doth not fear the Lord, and serve
other gods, nor divide his service between God and
mammon, but is all for uniformity, and entirely devot-
ed to God's service and fear alone. He hath a good
conscience, willing in all things to live honestly, and
doth truly, though not perfectly, forsake all his sins,
and keep all God's statutes that are known to him.
Let me therefore ask you two questions: (L) When
others divide the tables, do you sweetly conjoin them
in your practice? The hypocrite may be just and
square towards men; but follow him to his family
or closet, you shall find but little of God ; his family
is neglected, his soul is neglected. Or, it may be,
he is a forward first-table man, but you shall find
him tardy in the second. He will make many and
long prayers, yet make no conscience of devouring
widows' houses ! He is a great pretender of piety,
but meanwhile neglects judgment and mercy. The
sincere joins altogether. He is so far careful of
justice with men, that meanwhile he will not neglect
02

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the first and great part of justice, viz. to give God
his due. He doth justice, he loves mercy, hut withal
walks humbly with God. He walketh soberly with
respect to himself, righteously towards his neigh-
bour, and godly towards his Maker. He is not
one of those that are good only on their knees, but
you shall find him everywhere conscientious; you
shall have temperance on his table, chastity and mo-
desty in his behaviour, grace and truth in bis words,
charity in his deeds, faithfulness in his trust, justice
in his dealing. He doth not only seem to be re-
ligious, but bridleth his tongue; he is not only a
good Christian, but a good neighbour; not only a
good man, but a good husband, a good master, du-
tiful child, a diligent and faithful servant, a good sub-
ject. In a word, he makes great conscience of dis-
charging the duties of his relations among men. (2.)
When others stick in externals, do you look to the
spiritual part of every command, and principally mind
the inwards and vitals of religion; do you not only
make conscience of performing duties, but do you
carefully look to the manner of performing them,
and the ends for which you do perform them? Do
you not only make conscience of open, but of secret
sins? Do you abound, above all, in secret duties?
Do you keep a watch upon your hearts, and make
conscience not only of the gross acts of sin, but even
of sinful thoughts, inclinations, and desires? and are
you grieved even with your infirmities, and the cor-
rupt disposition of your natures, which you cannot
help though you would?

Q. 11. JV/ie?i others have their reserves in clos-

317

ing with Christ, do you give up all to him entirely?
Have you taken Christ, not hand over head, but
deliberately, understandingly, sitting down first and
counting the cost? Have you not secret reserves
for your own ease, safety, estate, some esteemed be-
loved sin ? Have you, upon solemn consideration,
accepted Christ as the Lord your righteousness, for
all changes of times and conditions; to run all ha-
zards with him, and to take your lot with him, fall
as it will?

Q. in. When others are for a little religion by-
the-hy, do you make religion your business? Do you
not put off God with the world's leaving, and serve
him, when you are at leisure? Must not God
stand by, while the world is first served? and are
not your souls the least of your cares, and put off
with some by-scraps and ends of your time? Is re-
ligion your trade, and your conversation in heaven ?
Do you walk with God? or have you only now and
then a turn with him? When you have ended your
prayers, is there an end of your religion till you come
to them again? or do you carry on a design of reli-
gion throughout your whole course ? Have you
religion woven into the heart and life? into your
discourse, and trades, and tables? Do you first
seek the kingdom of God and the righteousness
thereof? Is it the chief care of your lives that God
be served and your souls be saved? And is this
the one thing necessary with you, that you chiefly
mind, and are most solicitous about? Do your very
hearts say, with David, one thing have I desired of
the Lord: that will I seek after, &c.

318

Q. IV. When others are for the wages of reli-
gwj2, are you for the work P Can you say, witli
David, I have chosen thy precepts? Do your hearts
come ofF freely in this choice? Had you rather
be holy than otherwise, if it were your choice?
Had you rather be God's servant, and live at his
command, than at your own lusts? Do you count
the laws of Christ your heritage, or rather do you
count them your bondage? Do ye choose not only
the wages of righteousness, but the ways of righ-
teousness? Are God's commandments your delight?
and are the sweetest hours of your lives the hours
you spend with him ? Do ye ever enjoy yourselves
so much as when you most enjoy God? Is his ser-
vice the greatest comfort? and is it meat and drink
to do his will, unless when you are not yourselves
in the time of temptation or desertion? Do you
make use of holy duties only as men do of physic,
when they are ill at ease, when conscience lashes,
and afflictions sting, as it were to conjure down the
frightful furies, or to pacify God, that he may not
hurt you? or else do you use them as your daily bread,
and the very staff of your life and means of your
comforts?

Q. V. WheJt othei'S are for the cheap a?id easy
religion, are you for self-denial P When others
are for the religion that will serve them best, are
you for that which will serve God best? When
others are all upon the sparing hand, and will spare
what may be spared, and study how they may best
save charges in going to heaven, are you of princely
spirits, to resolve not to serve the Lord with that

319

which will cost nothing? Is your course of relio-ion
such as doth put your flesh to it, and cross and curb
its desires? or do you love to give it what it craves,
and suflPer it to take its own way? Have you no
enemy you dread so much as self? Do you pamper
and please it, and make provision for it, or do you
pray and watch against it, and grieve for its unhap-
py infirmities in your actions, and had you rather
than all the world that this enemy were under your
feet ?

Q. yi. W/iefi others are for no more religion
than ?ieeds must, arc you for the height of religion ?
The hypocrite, as one well observes, is very inqui-
sitive what is the lowest pitch a man may have, and
go to heaven, and upon his design, if he could find
but this, he would look no farther. But the sin-
cere Christian, though satisfied that his state is safe,
will rest in no attainments in grace, but reaches for-
ward, and presses on, if it were possible, to attain
to the resurrection of the dead. He that doth not
*' desire, and design, and endeavour perfection, never
yet came up to sincerity." A true believer desires
" holiness for holiness' sake," and therefore is set
upon " perfecting holiness."

Others desire it only for heaven's a i n 7
, 1 , P IP "^^d if^^y have

sake, and therefore are only for so a false notion of

much as will bear their charge heaven itself; else

thither. Others make use of holi- they might justly

ness only as a bridge to heaven, ^^^^^fj .«^ the

, . \ r 1 end of their pre-

and therefore are tor no more than ^^^^^ holiness: it

will just serve their turn. The true being the fruition

believer hath a holy nature, and of God in perfect

therefore holiness is his element and

holiness.

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natural employment ; and he must needs desire holi-
ness in its height, because every nature reaches after
perfection in its kind. The godly desires not holi-
ness, because it is the way to heaven; but he loves
heaven the better for the holy way that leads to it,
and for the perfect holiness which is there.

Q. VII. JV/ien others are all for the salvation
()f Christ, are you as truly for sanctification by
Christ P Do you take Christ as God offers him,
with all his offices and benefits, to be both a prince
and a Saviour, to give you repentance as well as re-
mission of sins? Are you desirous of the dominion
of Christ, as well as deliverance by Christ? Do
you close with his burden as well as his benefits?
Do you count his laws your liberty? his government
not your bondage, but your privilege? his service
your freedom? Do you go in Christ's ways as in
fetters? or do you run with enlargement of heart,
delight, or real willingness?

Q. VIII. When others do make self their end,
do you set up God above all, as your highest end ?
The hypocrite doth the same duties with the godly,
but with different ends; he eats for himself, he fasts
for himself, and prays with no better than self-ends,
and therefore is rejected. Now, it is your great
design, in your whole course, to gloiify God, and
enjoy him. Do you count this your whole business
and blessedness ? Do you make other business
stoop to this, other interest yield to this? Do your
souls breathe after this, above all " worldly good,"
that Christ may be magnified in you? Do you
count your name and estate as loss in comparison of

321

Christ? If conscience give a comfortable and clear
answer to these questions, go in peace; blessed are
you of the Lord ! God is your friend ! Heaven
is your heritage, the promises are your portion.
Christ is yours: all is yours; for he that hath these
things shall never be moved.

O 3

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CASE II.
A Case of Conscience on 1 Thess. iv. 1.

" Furthermore then, we beseech you, brethren, and exliort
you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye
ought to walk and to please God, so ye would aboimd more and
more."

Q. What may and must a Christian be and do,
that he may please God ?

A. To your jpleasing God, something is necessary
as to your persons or estates, and something as to
your performances and acts,

I. As to your persons or estates, it is necessary
in general that you be in a state of reconciliation
with God. If you would walk worthy of the Lord
unto all pleasing, you must first be friends with him;
for how can two walk together, except they be
agreed? Get the controversy taken up between
God and thee, and then thou shalt, with Levi, walk
with God in peace. Labour to get the breach
made up, to have the enmity slain, to have divine
displeasure removed. Till thy pardon be obtained,
and thy peace made, nothing thou canst do will
please God; he will be angry with thy person, and
angry with thy prayers. What a sharp message is
that to impertinent sinners, Mai. i. 10. God can-
not take pleasure in their persons ; " I have no plea-
sure in you, saith the Lord of Hosts," nor in any
of their performances; " neither will I accept an offer-

323

ing at your hand." He professes that his soul had
no deUght iti them, and tells them, they are unto
him as a vessel wherein there is no pleasure. It
is the modest expression of that vessel into which
nature empties itself. Come in, then, and touch
the golden sceptre; yield to mercy; kiss the son;
resign to Christ; accept of the peace tendered to
you in the word of reconciliation; and then God
will be a friend.

More particularly, that you may be in a state of
reconciliation, and so in a capacity of pleasing God,
you must follow these directions.

1. Put off' every sin. It is your iniquity that
separates between you and your God. If thou
wouldst have God pleased, forsake every sin; pluck
it out; cast it from thee: if thou regard iniquity in
thy heart, God will not hear thee, nor regard thee.
If thou art of them that have pleasure in unrighte-
ousness, the Lord hath no pleasure in thee; he is
not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness; evil
shall not dwell with him; the fools shall not stand
in his sight; he hateth all the workers of iniquity.
See that thou abandon every sin that thou knowest;
spare not one Agag, not a right eye, not an Hero-
dias; for then God will not spare thee: give the
darling of thy bosom a bill of divorce; say to the
idol get thee hence. God will not look upon that
man that seems pleasant upon any sin. The jealous
God will not endure to see thee embracing any sin
with delight; he will not bear it, to see thee smile
upon any sin; he holds thee a traitor to his crown,
if thou willingly harbourest his enemy. Though

324

tliou be very diligent in God's service, and presentest
him with muhitudes of sacrifices and many prayers^
he will be pleased with nothing, but hide his face
and stop his ears, while thou keepest thine iniquities
in thy hands. God will not amicably treat with
them that will not put away the evil of their doings.
O look into thine hands, thy heart, and into thy
house, into thy shop, thy trade, thy calling, and
see if there be any way of wickedness that thou art
found in. Thou canst not have peace with God,
nor he pleasure in thee, till this be removed: put off,
therefore, the old man, with his deeds.

2. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ,

First, The red robe of his righteousness for justi-
fication. The Lord will never give thee a good
look, nor a good word, but in Christ: he is a re-
venging, a consuming fire out of Christ; but get on
his robes, and he will be well pleased. Enoch had
this testimony, that he pleased God; but Christ
had much more, that God was well pleased with
sinners in and for him. Away with these rags and
with these fig-leaves : how can the righteous soul of
God but abhor you, whilst in the filthy clothes of
your own righteousness ? Dare not to come unto
God but with Christ in your arms; approach him
not but in the garment of your elder brother, lest
you carry away the curse. Joshua's filthy garments
must be put off*, and Christ's raiments put on, else
there is no standing before the bright and burning
eyes of infinite holiness. Put on the Lord Jesus
in believing; that is, accept of him in all his offices,
with all his inconveniences, and deliver up thyself

325

to him, and this will entitle thee to his merits and
righteousness: without this nothing will avail. If
thy head were waters, and thine eyes a fountain of
tears; if thou shouldst w^ar thy tongue to the root
with praying ; if thou shouldst weep an ocean, and
wash thyself in it, all could not get out one spot :
nothing can be accepted while thou art out of Christ;
and therefore, in the first place, apply thyself to him.
God will accept no gift but of his altar.

Secondly, The xdiite robe of his grace of sancti-
Jication, Thou, that art in the flesh, (that is, un-
renewed, unsanctified,) " canst not please God."
Never think to make up the matter by a little
" mending and reforming" particular acts : man,
thy heart must be renewed ; thy state must be clean
altered, or God cannot be pleased. The tree must
be made good, the fountain must be healed, or else
the stream will be salt, and the fruit sour. If
Christ be once formed in thee, that is his image,
in his grace, God will love thee. Likeness is the
ground of love: similitude and suitableness of nature
are the loadstones of affection, God cannot but love
his own likeness. Wouldst thou have his favour?
wouldst thou be his delight ? then conform to his
pleasure, study to be like him, purify thyself as he
is pure, " The righteous Lord loveth righteous-
ness ;" he desireth " truth in the inward parts," and
takes infinite complacence in the graces of his people.
These are the spikenard, the spices, the bed of lilies,
the sweet ointments, that Christ is so taken with :
these are the cinnamon and the tree of frankincense,
the calamus and caraphire, the myrrh and aloes, the

3^6

chains of the neck, and the precious pearls, that he
is so ravished withal, and doth so superlatively com-
mend. This is the raiment of needle-work, and
gold of Ophir, wherein the queen is presented to her
royal husband. Therefore, " as the elect of God,
holy and beloved, put ye on bowels of mercy, kind-
ness." " Put off all these, anger, wrath, malice,
filthy communication ; and put ye on the new man."
Particularly let me commend to you some special
graces, which God doth manifest him to be wonder-
fully pleased withal : as ever you would please God,
get on these :

1st, Be clothed mtJi htimility. This is a garment
which must be put on, or else you cannot be accepted
or saved. Here is the dress you must come to God
in : he must be " served in humility of mind." You
must humble yourselves to walk with him. Humi-
lity is a plain, yet comely garment. This grace
doth eminently honour God, and therefore God
doth put a peculiar honour upon, and manifest a
most special delight in this. Of all the men in
the world, this is the man that God will look unto;
even him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, that
trembles at his word. Though he be a high and
lofty one, that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is
Holy, (whence the trembling soul is ready to con-
clude, that surely such a fearful Majesty cannot but
despise him, such a sin-hating purity cannot but ab-
hor him,) yet he will lay aside his Majesty, and bear
with man's impurity, and condescend to most familiar
and constant communion and habitation witli his poor
dust, when contrite at his feet, and prostrate in hu-

327

mility. If thou wouldst be accepted of God, come,
as Benhadad's servants to the king of Israel, with a
rope about thy neck, and ashes on thy head. Think
meanly of thyself, and God will honour thee. Put
thyself in the lowest room, and God will set thee
higher; be little in thine own eyes, and thou shalt
be high in his. A proud heart and a proud look
are, with God, the first-born of abomination. As
ever thou wouldst have God well pleased with thee,
be thoroughly displeased with thyself: if thou dost
thoroughly loathe thyself, God will love thee ; if
thou abhorrest thyself, God will delight in thee : be
angry with thyself, and the Almighty will turn away
his anger from thee : condemn thyself, and God will
acquit thee : in nowise extenuate thy sins, nor jus-
tify thyself. Think the worst of thyself, and be
willing that others should think meanly of thee, and
heartily love them that slight thee. This is the
frame with which God is well pleased: pass sen-
tence on thyself, and God will absolve thee : set
thyself at his footstool, and he will lift thee up into
the throne.

2d, Labour for sincerity. This is not a distinct
grace from the rest; yet, for the doctrine's sake, I
speak to it distinctly. Uprightness is the great
thing that God seeks after and covenants for. It
renders all our persons and performances acceptable
before God. Such as are upright in the way are
God's delight. To these are all the promises of
peace, salvation, pardon, preservation, and blessed-
ness. In a word, there is no <Tood thine; God will
withhold from them that walk uprightly. This was

328

Noah's praise, that he was upright in his generation;
this was that which set ofF Job at such a rate, that
God doth so extol him for, and, as it were, made his
boast of him, the singular sincerity and integrity of
his heart. Study to be upright. See that the main
bent of thy heart be to please God and honour him;
that God's interest be uppermost with you; that he
have the chief share in you; and that the eye of the
soul be principally to him; for in this sincerity doth
consist, as to your main state. Let your great care
be your hearts; here is a Christian's great work.
The Lord seeth not as man seeth ; for man looks on
the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the
heart: see therefore that you look to it. Let thy
eye be chiefly where God's eye is: he minds not so
much what thou dost, as with what heart. Go then
and do likewise; yet be not satisfied in this, that you
are upright as to your estates, but labour to approve
yourselves in uprightness to God in your particular
actions. Do common as well as spiritual actions
with holy ends: much of your lives is lost for want
hereof. So much as is done for God, of his grace
he counts himself our debtor for: but what is done
for no higher end than self, is lost from our ac-
count.

3d, Put on a spirit of zeal and activity. How
wonderfully is God pleased with Phinehas' zeal!
what a great approbation doth he manifest of him !
what attention doth he give to him ! He is so
greatly pleased with the zealous appearance of him,
that he turns away his displeasure from the whole
congregation of Israel, and overlooks their crimson

8^9

provocation against him. On the contrary, there
is nothing that God is more displeased with than re-
missness and lifelessness, and indifference in religion.
The lukewarm water is not a greater offence in the
stomach, than the lukewarm professor to God; and
therefore he will spew such a one out of his mouth.
Christians, where is your zeal for the Lord of Hosts?
Christ's redeemed must he "zealousof good works."
** Not slothful in business, but fervent in spirit,
serving the Lord, instantly, night and day, for the
hope of the promise." Do not only that which is
right in the sight of the Lord, but do it with all
your heart. The Lord loveth a willing servant.
Bestir yourselves for the Lord. Be ye followers of
Christ, who went up and down doing good. Every
Christian should be a common blessing, a public
good. This is to be the children of your Father
which is in heaven, who is " good unto all, and his
tender mercies are over all his works:" and be sure
that the father doth best love that child that is most
like him. A private narrow spirit is a low and a
base spirit, unworthy of a Christian. A catholic
communicative spirit is full of great desires and great
designs; a large heart set " upon doing good," whose
fire, though ever hottest within, will be breaking
forth of his breast, and provoking others; whose love
will not be confined to a party, but gladly and thank-
fully owneth Christ wherever he sees him. This
catholic spirit, I say, is the glory of religion, the
church's blessing, and God's delight.

4th, Lively faith. This is a precious grace in
God's account; it giveth glory to God, and there-

330

fore God taketh no small pleasure in it. By faith
Enoch obtained that testimony, that he pleased God.
If you would walk so as to please God, you must
walk by faith. Christians must look to the things
unseen; they must not live at the common rate.
Christ must be their life and breath, their prayer
and their promises, their daily bread. By faith, the
elders obtained that good report. It was faith that
Christ was so greatly taken with in the centurion,
which made him to commend him for a none-such.
This was that which won such singular praise and
approbation from our Saviour to the woman of Ca-
naan, even her victorious faith. " Thou hast taken
away my heart, my sister, my spouse: thou hast
taken my heart with one of thine eyes," that is,
with thy faith. Live in the power of faith, and
thou wilt please him to the heart; give glory to him
by believing. Let the life thou livest in the flesh be
by faith of the Son of God. Faith, as one well
says, is the navel of morality.

Live by faith in prosperity. Though thou hast
the world about thee, let it not be above thee; keep
it at thy feet; use it as thy servant ; be much in the
views of glory and contemplations of eternity; buy
as " though thou possessedst not; rejoice as though
thou rejoicedst not; love as though thou lovedstnot;
use this world as not abusing it :" it is but a fashion,
not a substance, and that which is passing away.
Use it therefore with mortified affections, and prove
the sincerity of your faith by the victory over your
inordinate content and delight in, and desires after,
and cares for, the things of this world.

331

Live by faith in adversity ; weep as though you
wept not, enduring the cross, and despising the
shame, as looking unto Jesus, accounting Christ's
reproaches your riches, his shame your glory. Com-
pare these light afflictions with the promises; count,
if you can, the riches that are laid up in them; roll
yourselves upon the Lord, and know that your
heavenly Father hath no greater delight than to see
his children trust him with confidence, when all vi-
sible helps are out of sight, and he seems to be their
enemy.

5th, Put on the ornament of a meek and quiet
spirit; this is in the sight of God of great price.
Study to be like your Father, slow to anger, ready
to forgive, forgetting injuries, loving enemies, re-
quiting ill-will with kindness, ill-words with courte-
sies, neglect with benefits ; and, if any wrong you,
do him kindness the sooner : so shall you bear his
likeness, and be his delight. And, know, if you are
of unmortified passions and unbridled tongues, that
God hath a special hatred and displeasure against a
froward heart and a froward tongue. O ! seek meek-
ness: how can the holy Dove rest in an angry heart ?
Christ is a lamb of meekness; how can he take plea-
sure in an unquiet contentious spirit? Verily with
the froward he will show himself froward. If you
will not forgive others, he will not forgive you. Art
thou hard to be pleased, a froward wife, a froward
master, a cross and wilful servant ? Surely God will
not be pleased with thee; he will mete to you as you
measure to others.

6th, Get a spirit of self denial, God is then

33^

pleased best when self is displeased most. When
we can be content to be empty, content to be abased,
that God may be honoured, and, with the holy Bap-
tist, are willing to be eclipsed by Christ, willing to
decrease, that he may increase, counting ourselves no
losers while his interest is a gainer, rejoicing that we
are made low for Christ's advancement ; this is well-
pleasing unto God. How greatly was he pleased
with Solomon's self-denying choice, giving him his
asking, and throwing in riches and honour into
the bargain ! Strange was Abraham's self-denial !
What ! to sacrifice, with his own hand, the whole
hope of his family, the heir of promise, the child of
his years, a son, an only son, when his life was bound
up in the lad's life ! Was ever mortal thus put to
it? But Abraham shall not be a loser; God gives
him a testimony from heaven ; blesses him, blesses
his seed, blesses all nations in him. Wonderful was
Moses' self-denial, but more wonderful were his ac-
ceptation and reward. None like Moses. God pre-
ferred him in a better manner than Pharaoh could.
He must speak to him face to face, as a man to his
friend; his word shall be as it were a law with God:
speak for whom he will, they shall be spared, though
they seem to be destined to destruction. But, speak
against him who durst, they shall be sure to bear
their iniquity. Forget thyself; announce thine own
wisdom, thine own worthiness, thine own will; bridle
thy passions, curb thy appetite ; this do, and thou
shalt be greatly accepted, and shalt find that God's
favour will infinitely reward thee for all the murmur-
ing oppositions and discontents of thy flesh, which

333

will he ready to be impatient to have the reins held
so liJJrd.

7th, Maintain a spirit of resolution and con-
stancy in the ivaT/s of God. This was the renown
of the three worthies. They feared not the fierce-
ness of Nebuchadnezzar's rage, nor the fire of the
furnace; all the world could not make them bow;
and how gloriously did God own them, and miracu-
lously evidence his pleasure in them. Stand your
ground; resolve to live and die by substantial godli-
ness: cleave to the Lord with full purpose of heart;
let no difficulties make you change your station; then
shall you be an honour and a pleasure to God that
made you.

Well then, would you know what frame of heart
is pleasing to God ? Why, this humble, sincere,
zealous, active frame; this believing, meek, self-
denying, resolved frame: this is the frame that is
well pleasing in the " sight of God."

II. As to your peiformance. More briefly, that
those may please God, you must heedfully observe
these five things: —

1. That they be done hy the right ride, which is
God's word. You must not follow the imaginations
of your own hearts; you must not do that which is
right in your own eyes; in all sacred actions you
must have God's commands to warrant you. You
may not offer to God that of which you are not able
to say, " thou requirest these things at our hands."
In all civil actions you must have God's allowance :
be sure he will never accept that which this world
condemns : under pain of God's displeasure, dare not
you set your hand to what the world forbids.

334

2. That they he done to the right end, which is
God's glory. How damnably did the Phariseea err!
how miserably did Jehu miscarry ! and both in acts
for the " matter commanded," for want of aiming at
this end.

3. That they proceed from right principles, ( 1 .)
Faith, without which it is impossible to please God :
prayer will not avail, except it be the prayer of faith.
We believe, and therefore we speak. (2.) Love.
If we should " give our goods to the poor," and
bodies to the fire, and not from love, " it would pro-
fit us nothing." Where the slavish fear of hell
only, or the lash of conscience, or the love of man^s
praise, carries men to duties; where any other car-
nal principle is predominant in the act; it cannot
please God. (3.) Fear. We cannot serve God
acceptably without " reverence and godly fear (no
slavish fear). The Lord taketh pleasure in them
that fear him," in them that hope in his mercy.
Observe the happy mixture where these two are
conjoined : that it is a true filial fear. Saith David,
*' I will come to thy house in the multitude of thy
mercy," (behold his faith,) " and in thy fear will I
worship toward thy holy temple" — there is his fear
with faith: faith without fear were bold presumption ;
fear without faith is sinful despair: join them toge-
ther, and God is well pleased.

4. That they be done in a right manner, pre^
paredly, not rashly and inconsiderately, in the pre-
sence of so dreadful a Majesty. Prudently; for
lawful acts may be spoiled, and done unlawfully,
without consideration had to the offence that may in
some cases attend them : yea, holy duties, as well as

335

common actions, may be turned into sins, by being
ill-timed, and for want of a due attending the pre-
sent circumstances. Holily, not rashly, uttering any
thing with our mouth before God ; but behaving our-
selves as in his sight, heartily, not feignedly, with
our lips going when our minds are gadding.

5. That they he directed through the right means,
that is, " Jesus Christ, the only way to the Father."
Bring all thy sacrifices to the high-priest; offer all
upon this altar ; else all is lost. Not that it is enough
to say, " through our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen,"
at the end ; but in every duty you must come with
a lively dependence on him for righteousness and
strength, for assistance and acceptance. Remember
to do all this in the name of the Lord Jesus: to
come leaning upon his hand ; without this all your
service will be rejected.

336

CASE III.

A Case of Conscience^ grounded on the words of our
Saviour^ John viii. 29.

" For I do always those things that please him."

Q. I. Is any man able, in this life, to come up to
the example of Christ in this, to do always those
things that please God F

Answer, In regard there is none that doth good
and sinneth not, and God neither can nor will be
pleased with sin, no, not in his own people, but
most of all hates it in them, it cannot be that any
man in this life should fully come up to Christ's
example herein; yet may we come so far towards it,
that, not only in our immediate addresses to God,
but in the general course of our lives, we may arrive
at pleasing God. Thus Enoch and Noah walked
with God; that is, in their general course they
walked so as to please God and approve themselves
in his sight. Thus the meanest actions, if done by
us unto the Lord, as servants of Christ, have a pro-
mise of acceptance and reward.

Q. II. How may we come in our measures to be
followers of Christ in this, to do always those things
that please God P

Answer, In order to this, there is something ne-
cessary with reference, 1. To our persons; 2. To
our principles; 3. To our practices. With refer-

337

ence to our persons: And here it is necessary,
1. That there be an alteration of our natures by
renewing grace; for they that are in the flesh cannot
please God.

These wild vines must needs bring forth sour
grapes, the fruit they bear (how specious and fair
soever to the eye) is evil fruit. Where there is
not a good treasure of grace in the heart, a man
cannot in his actions bring forth good things.

Many enlightened sinners think, by reading and
praying, and forsaking some gross and glaring sins,
to pacify God, and set all aright. Mistaking souls !
let me undeceive you; you begin at the wrong end:
your first and greatest care must be to get your
hearts and natures changed and renewed by the force
of converting grace; you labour in vain at the streams,
while the fountain of corruption in the heart remains
in its strength ; you must not think it is with you
as it is with a ruinous house, where the mending of
it here and there a little will make up all again;
but the old building must be quite taken down, and
the foundation stone laid anew, in a sound repentance
from dead works and thorough conversion of God.
Till this be done, you must know God hath no
pleasure in you, neither will accept an offering at
your hand, as he doth from those that are his
friends.

2. That there be the acceptation of your persons
through faith in Jesus Christ; for, in him alone it
is that God will be well pleased. So that, without
faith interesting us in him, it is impossible to please
God.

338

For the better understanding both these parti-
culars, know that there are two attributes of God
to which you must bear a conformity, or else you
cannot please him.

1. The holiness of God, For he is not a God
that hath pleasure in iniquity; he heareth not sin-
ners; the fooHsh shall not stand in his sight; he
hateth all the workers of iniquity.

2. The justice of God. For he will by no means
clear the guilty. Could we have inherent holiness
in us, in our unpardoned state, yet justice could not
but be infinitely offended while guilt lieth unremoved,
as you may see in Christ; for, though he were per-
fectly holy, yet being under the guilt of our sins
imputed to him, the severity of God's justice broke
out against him.

Now, man being naturally an offence, both to the
holiness and justice of God, there must of necessity
pass upon him, in order to his pleasing God, this
two-fold change:

1. The real change of sanctijication. I call this
a real change, because by this there is a real change;
infusing new qualities and dispositions; making him
of proud, humble; of carnal, spiritual and heavenly,
&c.

2. The relati've change of justijication, I call
this a relative change, because it is not a real change
in a man's nature, but in his condition; making
him to stand in a new relation to the law, with
reference to which he was before guilty and con-
demned : but now the law pronounces the same man
clear and acquitted; and it was not from any righte-

339

ousness infused into him, but for the satisfaction
and payment another laid down for him : satisfaction
there must be, and righteousness must be tendered,
else God cannot be at peace. We have nothing to
pay. O sinners! away to Christ for it; hide thee
in the clefts of that rock; run to the fountain open
for sin and imcleanness. Appear not before God,
but in the robe of Christ*s righteousness: he sends
you to Jesus, as he did them to Job. " Go to my
servant Job; he shall pray for you; him will I accept.'*
Get out of yourselves; flee to Christ; labour to be
found in him ; else all your endeavours, in washing
yourselves, will be to no effect.

3. With reference to our priiiciples. And here
it is necessary that some corrupt principles be un-
learned, and some holy principles be received and
retained.

Some corrupt principles must be unlearned; as,
1. That it is enough if we serve God on the
Lord^s-day^ and we may serve ourselves all the rest
of the week. Though God hath reserved one day
in seven wholly for his immediate service, (which is
therefore in a peculiar sense called the Lord's-day,)
yet we must know^ that every day is his, and that
he hath not allowed us one hour of time but only
for his service. Indeed he hath service of more
sorts than one ; but we must know that the busi-
ness of our ordinary affairs, if rightly done, is serv-
ing the Lord Christ. God is as truly served by
you in the working-day's labour as the Sabbath-
day's rest, if you do it in a right manner, and to
holy ends.

P2

340

There are a generation whose religion is but a
Sunday's religion, which they put on and ofF with
their Sunday's clothes, and then they think God is
fairly served for the week, although God knows,
that the little they do then is but poorly done either.
Never think God will accept it at thine hands, when
thou livest six days for the world and thyself, for
one that thou spendest to him. This shows thee
to be under the unmortified power of self-love, and
not to be the Lord's ; for none of his liveth to him-
self. You must remember, that you are but to learn
upon the Sabbath how to serve God all the week ;
and not to think, when the Lord's day is ended, his
work is done.

2. That if God be served morning and evenings
it is enough^ though we serve ourselves the rest of
the day. God must be served every day, and all
the day: you must be serving him not only in your
feast, but at your common meals, not only on your
knees, but in your callings.

Some think, that, if they keep all religious duties,
they may do what they list at other times; that, if
they be intemperate, lascivious, unrighteous, it is
but to make over again with God at night, and all
will be well; like the strange woman in the Pro-
verbs, that, having made her oflPering, was presently
ready for new wickedness, as if she had paid off
the old score, and might now run boldly upon a
new. Those are not the children of God but of
BeUal.

Others think, that though they may not serve
the devil at any time, yet giving God his dues morn-

341

ing and evening, they may serve themselves the rest
of the time. But in vain do they lay claim to God,
who live more to themselves than him. This will
be found horrible sacrilege, to put off God with but
a tenth. God is to be eyed and served in all that
you do; and this is what I drive at; that we may
not divide ourselves between God and the world,
between his services and our own ends, and so put
him off with a partial service; but that we may do
all in obedience to him, and so may be entirely the
Lord's; that he may in all things be glorified by us,
and we may not lose our reward.

II. Some holy principles must be received and re-
tained; as,

Principle 1. That the pleasing God is our only
business and our highest blessedness. First, our
only business: What is it we call or count our
business ?

]. That is a man's business "joJiich his livelihood
and subsistence depend upon. The lawyer reckons
the law his business; and the tradesman counts his
trade his business — because upon these their liveli-
hood and subsistence depend. Brethren, our whole
depends upon the pleasing God; do this, and you
do all; miss in this, and you mar all: please him
and you are made for ever; if he be not pleased,
you are undone for ever. How careful is the selfish
courtier to please his prince ! how will he crouch
and flatter ? and, if he can but divine what will gra-
tify and please him, he thinks himself happy ! And
why, but because all his dependence is upon his
prince's favour? Much more do we depend upon

342

the favour of God: blessed is the man whom he
chooseth ! m his favour is hfe ! but woe to them
that have God against them! they are perfectly
miserable: reprobate silver shall men call them, be-
cause the Lord hath rejected them. If the Lord do
but say to a man, as he did to Moses, thou hast found
grace in my sight, and I know thee by name — happy
is that man! but, if he thus say: I have no pleasure
in thee ! you may cover the face of that man, as they
did Haman's, and carry him away ! Miserable must
his end be if he continue !

2. That is a man's business which he hath his
stock and talents for. If a man be intrusted as a
steward or factor, his business is to buy in the com-
modities that are useful. Beloved, all our time,
parts, interests, food, raiment, and all other mercies,
spiritual or temporal, are the stock wherewith God
has intrusted us, and are all for his own use and
service. And is it not a sad and fearful case, that
God should have so great a stock going, as lies in
the hands of all the sons of men, and yet have, if I
may so speak, so little profit of it, I mean so little
glory by it, that he should sow so much and reap so
little, strew so much and gather so little? Is it
not sad, that men should have so much in vain ?
Hast thou health and wealth, and dost thou not use
them for God ? It is all in vain. Hast thou un-
derstanding, and yet improved it but for contriving
thine own affairs and worldly designs? thy reason
and understanding are become vain. O ! how wilt
thou answer, that thou hast had so great a stock in
thy hands, and made so little improvement of it ?

343

It had been well for some men if they never had a
foot of land or an hour of ease, if they never had the
understanding of men, because they have not used
their talents for God, and for the ends for which
they were put into their hands.

3. That is a man^s business which his capacities
do call for. It is a man's business, if in the capa-
city of a judge, to do justice; or of a servant, to
do his master's will. Brethren, all your capacities
evidence it to be your business to please God ; you
are his friends, you are his servants, therefore you
must please him well in all things; his children, and
therefore must set yourselves to honour him; his
spouse, and therefore it is your business to please
your husband.

4. That is a man's business which he hath a main-
tenance from. If a man be maintained in the place
of a schoolmaster, it is his business to teach ; if of a
soldier, it is his business to fight. Beloved, do you
not know at whose finding you are? and do you think
God keeps so many servants to be idle, or to mind
their own designs and pleasures ? God hath cut
you out every one his work, every man his hands
full: so much work is to be done within door,
and so much without door; so much towards God,
towards your neighbour, towards your ownselves,
that you have no time to be idle in, and you shall
dearly reckon for it, if you will eat his bread, and
will not do his work. And, as pleasing God is our
chief business.

Principle 2. So it is also our highest blessedness;
for man's happiness lies in God's favour. Our hap-

344

piness is in attaining the end of our being; and there-
fore the great query among the philosophers was,
What was the end and happiness of man ? Now,
the true end of our being is, that we may please
God; for his pleasure we are and were created.
And for this end also we are now created, that we
should yield ourselves unto God, and being built up
a spiritual house, should offer up to him spiritual
sacrifices, acceptable through Christ. This is the
end of our redemption, that we should not serve our-
selves, but him, in holiness and righteousness all the
days of our lives, and that we should not henceforth
live to ourselves, but to him that died for us. It is
the end likewise of our justification, that our con-
sciences being purged, we should acceptably serve
the living God. In a word, it is the end of our
glorification, that, being translated into heaven, we
should perfectly please God, and serve him night
and day in his temple. So that the pleasing God
is the sole end and happiness of man. And this
will be clear, because we then do promote ourselves
most when we please God best: for, by this, you
shall have this twofold advantage.

I. You shall be the favourite of God. O glo-
rious promotion ! Haman thought himself no little
man when he was on Ahasuerus' right hand, and
yet he was at length but preferred to the gallows.
But what shall be done to the man whom God de-
lights to honour? O blessed is that man ! Woe
to him that touches him ! " It had been better for
him that a mill-stone were hanged about his neck,
and be drowned in the midst of the sea, than that

345

he should offend such a one!" God is infinitely
careful of his favourites; the apple of his eye is
touched when they are injured. Whosoever touch-
eth them shall not be innocent. God hath a bles-
sing for those that show them kindness; he will
render vengeance upon the ungodly for every hard
speech they utter against them.

O man! doth not thy soul say, happy are the
people that are in such a case ! Will not thy con-
dition be most blessed, when God shall be thus infi-
nitely tender of thee, take all the kindnesses done
to thee as done to himself, and all the injuries done
to thee as afironts to himself? Tliis is the happy
case of his favourites I

2. Evet'y thing you do shall be found on your
account "joith God. Brethren, are you believers, or
are you not? Do ye believe the immortality of the
soul, and the life to come, or do ye not? the ways
of most declare them to be such as do not, to be
mere infidels, though professed Christians. If you
think there be an eternal state to come, will it not
be your highest wisdom to provide for it, and lay up
what possibly you can, that you may inherit it in
the other world? Will not every wise man, that
knows he is shortly to be removed into another coun-
try, be careful to transport all he can, that he may
enjoy it at his coming ? Beloved, if you do indeed
believe that you must be for ever in another world,
will it not be your best way to be doing that, the
fruit whereof you shall enjoy for ever? Were not
he a madman, that, having but a very short term
upon a living, should yet go building and planting
P 3

346

there, when he had a land of inheritance to build
upon? Infinite is the mischief that comes of self-
seeking and self-pleasing. You are eternal losers by
it. God will say, you have your reward. Something
you may have in hand, but the eternal reward is lost.
Brethren, I am ambitious for you that what ye do
you should do for ever, that all should meet you in
the other world, and that there you should reap the
everlasting fruit of what you are doing now. A
wise builder will build for ever, and not that which
shall last only for a day or year. Oh, that you
would be wise builders ! Do all for God, and you
shall have eternal advantages. Learn but this les-
son, " to set yourselves in all things to please God,
and you will be promoting and advancing yourselves
in all that ever you do ;" always laying up a treasure
in heaven; still adding to the heap. And, O! what
riches will you come to, when, by every day, and
every hour, and every action, you are gainers ! for,
God will not let the least thing that is done for him,
no, not a cup of cold water, go without an everlasting
reward, nor your labour be in vain.

Principle 3. That^ isoheii you have done all, if
God be not pleased, you have done nothing. Settle
it in your heart that all is in vain that is not done
for God: when you do not please God, you do not
profit yourselves. When men offer ever so richly
and freely, if not in such a manner as is pleasing to
God, all is but a vain oblation. If men will do
more than ever God required, and be zealous in
things that God has not commanded, it is " but in
vain that they worship him." Beloved, so much

347

time as you have lived to yourselves you have lived
in vain; because it was quite beside your end. O!
it is a heart-cutting consideration to a tender Chris-
tian to think of this; that when Hfe is short, and
time so Uttle in all, yet he must be fain to cut off so
much. Why, man, so many hours must thou cut
off from thy days, and so many years from thy life,
as thou hast not lived unto God but to thyself, are
lost as to the ends of life and time. If on repen-
tance thou art forgiven, thou art not rewarded for
them.

Beloved, you must count that you have lived no
longer than you have lived unto God : " To me to
live is Christ.'* I should account I did not live, if
I did not live to him : it is the only employment of
my life to serve him : I should not tell what to do
with my life, unless it were to spend it for him.

Christian, thus you must reckon: so much time
as I have lived to Christ, so much I have saved; and
so much as I have lived to myself, so much I have
lost. It is not the man, but the beast, that lives
while we live below our reason, which distinguishes
the human life from that of brutes. Now, while
we live not to God, we live utterly below our reason
itself; which is sufficiently discovered in that God
is the author and end of man. Doth not reason dic-
tate, that God should have the glory of his own
work, and the vessel should be to the potter's use?
Doth any man plant a vineyard, or keep a flock, and
not expect the fruit or milk? *' God hath made
thee, O man, for himself," and hast thou the face
of a man, and dost not blush at this, to think that

348

God should make and mention thee in vain? If
thou hast a grain of ingenuity, thou wih abhor the
thoughts of this, that thou shouldst be in vain.
Why, so much as thou art for thyself, thou art for
nothing. It may be thou livest a very busy life,
but thou actest not for God; thou art all this while
but busily doing nothing. Thou mayest sit down
in the evening, and say, " I have been all this day
doing nothing." Thou wilt find a blank in God's
book for that day. Nothing on thy account; or this
sad record, " such a day spent, and nothing done."
God has his day-book, and takes notice of all your
carriages, how you rise, and how you go forth to your
labours; how you speak, how you eat, and whether
you eye him, and his glory in all, or look no higher
than yourselves. " We have been toiling all night,
and caught nothing." May not this be the sad
complaint of many a man: I have been toiling all
my life, and yet have done nothing, because what
I did was not done unto the Lord? How would
you take it of your servants, if, coming home in the
evening, you should find every one of them minding
their own business and pleasure, and your work left
undone? Is it not sad, sirs, that so many days and
hours should pass over us, and we be no nearer our
end than we were before? Your little children are
busy from morning till night, and yet all the while
have been doing nothing ; and so are you, when you
are but seeking your carnal selves, and not serving
and pleasing God in what you undertake.

Principle 4. That the favour of all the woi'ld can
nothing avail you, if God be not pleased mth you

349

and hy you. If there were auy that could save you
from his wrath, you need not be solicitous to please
him; and, if he be not well pleased, we are all un-
done: " Thou, even thou, art to be feared; and who
shalt stand when once thou art angry?" When
men have slight thoughts of God's anger, and the
fear and dread of him are not on their hearts, no
wonder if they be not careful to please him. You
must be convinced that the displeasure of God is the
most formidable thing in the world, else you can ne-
ver learn this great lesson. Beloved, if you should
please men, and all the world should be on your side,
what would this avail, while God is your enemy ?
If all men should bless you and speak well of you,
what would this profit when God should rise up in
judgment against you and condemn you ? It is not
a man's bar, but God's that you must stand at; it is
not by men's votes you must be cast or acquitted ;
it will not go by most voices, but God himself is
the judge. In his breast it is whether you shall live
or die. If a man were upon trial for his life, what
would it avail him that all his fellow-prisoners, and
the whole crowd about him were for him, when the
whole bench and jury were against him? If your
lives and estates were in question, to whom would
you go to make a friend, the judge or the people?
Sirs, be convinced that, if God be against you, it is
as bad as if God and all the world were against you;
for all signifies nothing without him. O ! whatever
you do, study to get in and keep with him. I tell
you the time is coming when the breath of men will
signify nothing: when their commendation will do

350

you no good. O man, though all the world should
give thee their hands, and subscribe thy certificate,
it would signify nothing in God's account, or his
court. Many build their hopes of heaven upon the
good opinion that others have of them : but I tell
thee, man, though thou couldst cany letters of com-
mendation with thee when thou diest, and all the
ministers of the gospel should give thee their Bene"
diciteSy all would be no more than a blank paper;
and he would not save thee a jot the sooner if he
should find thee to have been but a secret hypocrite,
a rotten-hearted professor, all the while.

Principle 5. T/iat God would not be pleased with
you in any thing, except you make it your- care to
please him well in every thing. You will be one day
ashamed, except you " have respect to all God's
commands." " You have not a good conscience,
except it be your care in all things to live honestly."
If Naaman must be excused in one thing, to bow in
the house of Rimmon, that he might not despise his
Master, this is enough to spoil every thing. Some
will needs keep God's good will, and the world's too,
and so will give both their turns: they will serve
God at home, and conform to the world abroad.
These men have two faces and two tongues: the
one for the good, and the other for the bad company
that they come into. Some held two first principles;
the one the " common foundation of all good,"
which is God, and the other the cause of all evil :
and they worshipped both; the "good principles for
love," and the evil for fear. Just such a religion
are many among us now of. But let them know.

351

whoever they arc, that, while they grasp all, they
lose all; for God will never own time-servers, nor
men-pleasers for the servants of Christ.

III. }Vit/i reference to their practice. And here,
as ever you desire to come to that hlessed life of " do-
ing always those things that please God," you must
carefully follow these six rules.
, Rule 1. Look round about you to the ischole lati^
tude and compass of your duty. Great is the latitude
of Christianity : " Thy commandment is exceeding
broad;" and many professors scarce look more than
one way ; but, while they intensely mind one thing,
they neglect another. It may be, while they are
taken up with the care of religious duties, they forget
relative duties; or they are careful of personal duties,
but very remiss in the duties that they owe to the souls
of their families; or they complain and mourn over
their own sins, but lay not to heart others' sins. It
may be, they are more punctual in their more imme-
diate duties towards God, but are very negligent in
their duties towards men; or they will spend much
time for their souls, but little lay to heart the case of
the church, the misery of perishing souls that are
round about them. Possibly, they keep the Sab-
bath strictly, and pray, hear, and fear an oath; but
in the meantime, make little conscience of breaking
their promises, passing hasty and uncharitable cen-
sures, spending time vainly, being unprofitable in
their discourse, close handed to godly uses, suffer-
ing sin to go unreproved, letting out their passions
at every petty cross. Many will mind their duty to
them that are within, and in the meantime are very

352

short in their duties to them that are without. This
is too common a case. Where is the Christian al-
most that seriously bethinks himself, what might I
do to win souls? It may be you will go on in the
company of the godly, where you may be edified:
but, when do you go to your poor neighbour, whom
you see to live in a sinful state, and tell him of his
danger, and labour to gain him to Christ? Yea,
so much is this great duty neglected and out of fash-
ion, that I am afraid many question whether it be a
duty or not; as if you might let sin lie upon the
soul of your brother, and yet be innocent. If it
were but his ox or ass that lay ready to perish, you
would make no question but it were your duty to
help him out of the ditch ; and do you think in ear-
nest that you owe more to these than you do to his
soul? Is it to ministers only, or to all believers,
the Scripture belongs? " The fruit of the righteous
is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise."
Surely the Hves of too many Christians speak the
same language that Cain spake with his mouth :
" Am I my brother's keeper ?" It is true, God
will have you keep every one, within the bounds of
your proper station, so as to take occasions, yea, to
seek occasions, as you are able, to be doing good to
others. Do you not know how to get within your
poor neighbour? Carry alms with you; do him
a kindness ; oblige him by a courteous and winning
carriage; then shall I expect to see the kingdom of
Christ flourish gloriously, when every one that pro-
fesseth godliness shall arise and take hokl of the
skirt of his neighbour. O, see your neglects in .

353

this; do not think it enough to keep your own vine-
yard; let your friends and neighbours have no quiet
for you, till you see them setting in good earnest to
seek after heaven; or, if you' might bring in but
every one his man to Christ, what a blessed thing
were this ! I lose myself in this argument; but I
am content to do so, this duty being so miserably
neglected.

Too many Uve as if religion lay all in " praying
and hearing, holy confidence," and the like; forget-
ting " that pure rehgion and undefiled is this, to
visit the fatherless and widows in their afflictions."
The other should be so done, as that this should
not be left undone. You make conscience of being
just, and true, and faithful, but do you not forget
to win upon others by your kindness and afiableness?
as if it were not written in your Bible, " Be pitiful,
be courteous, having compassion one of another."
Say not " it is not my nature." What doth grace
serve for, but to correct the evils of your temper ?
Is not ours a rehgion of self-denial ? Do not the
rules of religion enjoin us to be followers of whatso-
ever is lovely and of good report, and may render
religion amiable to the world ?

Rule 2. Use a wise forecast^ that every day may
fall ill its time and ordei', and every work may have
its room. It is not enough to do God's work, but
it must be done in his order. That which in itself
is good and necessary, may be so ill-timed as to be-
come a sin. It is a duty to tell our brother of his
sin; but, to rip it up in your passion, or to be re-
torting upon him when he is Christianly admonish-

354

ing you, is a sin. Your worldly business must not
shut out religion, nor religious duties take you so as
to neglect your callings; but every duty must have
its place. But, for the doing of all in God's order,
take these five directions.

Direct. 1. Begin at home,

\, In provoking to good. Why must God plead
with you; "thou that teachest another, teachestthou
not thyself?" Be an example of thine own rule ; else
the hypocrite's charge will come in against thee. They
bind heavy burdens, but will not touch them with one
of their fingers. O observe God's order ! " These
words which I command thee shall be in thine heart;"
that must be our first care; and then, having got our
lesson well ourselves, we must teach it to others:
"And thou shalt teach them diligently to thy children,
and talk of them when," &c. At least, if thou hast
not already attained it, be sure to learn with the
first; and, when thou professest to duty, intend thy-
self first, and speak most to thy own heart.

2. In reproving evil: else thou wilt be branded
for a hypocrite. First cast the beam out of thine
own eye. We may not think, as many do, mistak-
ingly, that we must not reprove another, when we
are guilty of the same sin; but we must in such a case
be sure to cast the first stone at ourselves. Be soon-
est angry with thyself, and most severe to thine own
sins rather than to others. It is strange to see the
great censoriousness of professors to others, and how
tender they are of their own corruptions, and impa-
tient of reproof. Reader, fear and avoid this sin.

Direct. 2. Let God he Jirst served. Let God

355

have the first of thy thoughts, the first of the day,
the first of thy strength. How heavily is God dis-
pleased with the profane priests, because they will
serve themselves first with sacrifices before him ! It
is the holy counsel that one gives: Hold the door of
thy heart fast against the world in the morning, till
thy heart hath been first in heaven, and seasoned and
fortified thence against the temptations thou art like
to meet with as soon as thou comest below. Indeed
all must be done as God's service, but so as that his
immediate service must be done first. It is the
counsel of several heathens, that all undertakings
should be begun with prayer. Saith Aratus, let us
begin with God. And the very Mahometans begin
their books always, as men use to do their wills,
" In the name of God/'

Direct. 3. First cleanse the inside. Cleanse
first that which is within the cup. Though they
are much out that live as if all their work did lie
within doors, yet remember that it lies chiefly here.
It is a most preposterous course in religion to be-
gin first with the outside. O Jerusalem, wash
thine heart! When once this is done, reformation
will quickly begin in the life, but not otherwise.
Many are careful that all that appear to men should
be beautiful, but their hearts are neglected: these
carry about them the marks of the hypocrite. And
what will it profit thee, O vain man, to have all se-
cret from men, since God knows and detects thee,
and hath appointed a day when he will anatomize
thy heart before the world?

Direct. 4. Eye those duties that a?'e of most

356

importance. The hypocrite is very punctual in less
matters, but neglects the weightier things of the
law; judgment, mercy, and faith. He is for a reli-
gion that will cost him but little; and therefore,
words being very cheap, he will be as forward as any
mighty zealot in the circumstantials of religion, and
marvellously censorious of others that come not up
to his mind, as men of wide principles and large con-
sciences; but, in the mean time, he is very negligent
of secret duties, a great stranger to self-denial and
walking humbly with God. He strains wonderfully
at a ceremony, but it may be, he can swallow the
gains of unrighteousness safe enough. It may be
he will decry superstition, and never wants a stone
to sling at a profane churchman; but in the mean-
time walks loosely in his family, makes little con-
science in his dealings, or will take up his cups as
freely as another, so he be not drunk; or if he will
not take a penny of his neighbour's estate, he is most
unmerciful to his good name, and will take up any
report that is going. Brethren, you must make
conscience of the least sin, and of the least duty;
but it is a fearful sign when men are zealous against
less sins, and yet connive at greater, as these are.

Direct. 5. Take thejirst opportunity^ when God
gives a Jit season for any duty. Let not Satan be-
guile you, by telling you of another or better time.
It may be thou hast a purpose to reprove thy brother
for his sin; but how long wilt thou be purposing?
Now God gives thee an opportunity. It may be,
thy backward heart saith, " not now, but another
time," and so puts it off till he or thyself be removed,

357

and he be hardened; then, at least, thou art guilty
of the sin that he commits in the meanwhile, be-
cause tbou hast " not done thy duty" to prevent it.
It is in thine heart to deal with thine unconverted
friend or neighbour about his spiritual state ; but it
may be, while thou art delaying, death comes, and
snatches him away in his sins, or takes thee oflp, and
so farewell for ever to any opportunity of doing the
soul of thy brother any good. How often are the
closet-duties hindered, or miserably disturbed, for
want of care to lay hold on the first opportunity?
We think another hour in the day may do as well;
but then one thing or another unexpectedly falls in,
that nothing is done to the purpose; therefore be-
ware of this cheat. Our Saviour would take his
season for prayer before day, when his other work
was pressing.

Rule 3. Do nothing in things sacred "without
God's command; nothing in things civil without
God's allowance. OflPer not with strange fire. In
God's worship you must see you be well able to an-
swer that question, " Who hath required these things
at your hands?" Here the command must be ob-
served without adding or diminishing, yet under-
standing this with two cautions :

1. " Though men may not stamp their invented
ceremonies with a moral signification, nor impose
nor use them, though with good intentions of edify-
ing people by devising means;" as if Christ had not
sufficiently provided for the edified of his people
without their devices: and, though nothing may be
used as a part of worship that God hath not com-

358

maiided, (for, it is enough to make any thing reject-
ed by the Lord of Divine Worship if he shall say,
" I commanded it not, spake it not, neither came it
into my mind,") yet nevertheless those things that
are merely circumstantial, and not in the general
kind necessary nor intended as any part or means of
worship, may be determined of by human prudence,
according to the general rules of the word, which
must always be observed. And, for want of under-
standing, many have ignorantly condemned preaching
by an hour-glass, in a high place, in churches, by
way of doctrine and use, &c. running from one ex-
treme to another.

2. We may not think that God's ordinance, re-
maining for substance, may be forsaken, because of
some " faults in the administering, or in the way of
their administration." The administering of God's
ordinances belongs not to the people, but to the
minister; and, if he fails in his duty, by administer-
ing them in a way that is not, or is less edifying, it
is my grief, but his sin. Hophni and Phineas were
corrupt in their lives, and brought in much corrup-
tion and rudeness into the service of God, yet El-
kanah and Hannah, with others of the godly, did
nevertheless attend God's worship and sanctuary.
Much corruption was crept both into the doctrine,
worship, and lives of the Jews, yet our Saviour
(though he still cried down the corruption and would
not join in it) never prohibited communion with them
in God's worship, but enjoins it, and practises it,
both he, and his parents, and apostles.

But now, in things civil, it is sufficient that you

359

have the allowance of the word, though not the com-
mand; always provided, that the general rules be here
observed, all to the glory of God, and not to abuse
our lawful liberty to the offence of others. Now,
your actions being thus justifiable, as to the matter
of them, (without which it is impossible, had you
never so good intentions, to please God,) the influ-
ence and virtue of holy ends in them will be effectual
to turn all into religious duties, as a touch of the
philosopher's stone turns the baser metal into gold.
Rule 4. In every action let God he uppermost ;
hut in religious actions let God he all. Let none
of your actions terminate in yourselves; but labour
to be able in sincerity to give this account of any
thing you set about, that this you do because it is
pleasing to God, because it is his will concerning
you. Set a mark upon this caution; beware in
those actions wherein self may bear a part, lest it
should sweep stakes, and carry all. You may, in
your common actions, have an eye to your outward
commodity and comfortable being in the world, but
this must not be the chief thing, much less the all
that you design herein; for, by looking no higher
than self, you incur this double mischief, 1. You
lose so much from your own account; 2. You
usurp on the great prerogative of God. I fear we
are not aware of the fearful evil in self-seeking ; it
is no less than deposing God from the throne, and
setting ourselves in his stead. It is God's great
prerogative, and the proper worship that is due to
him, as God, that he should be the last end of all
the operations of us his creatures, and that all our

360

motions should terminate in him. Now, when we
eye our own commodity, and not God, and look to
this more than unto God, we arrogate the divine
prerogative to ourselves, and set ourselves above
him; which is no less than heinous idolatry. And,
if it be such a heinous sin to bow down to an image,
which is but the giving God's outward worship to.
the creature, how much more to seek and honour
ourselves before God ! This is to give his inward
worship, which of all is the principal, to the creature.
O, how many that pass for good Christians, will be
found heinous idolaters, because they have sought
their own carnal ends more than God and his glory !
and many real Christians, though they mainly de-
sign God and his glory, yet in many particular ac-
tions contract great guilt, by looking no higher than
themselves in what they do. I know you cannot
be always thinking of God, yet I would have you
never forget what you have been taught — in the
entrance of every solemn action, to remember God,
and make him your end. Lie down in the name of
God every evening; go forth in his name every
morning; resolving to undertake all for him. When
you enter upon your callings, sit down at your meals,
make a journey or a visit, do it as unto the Lord,
with design to please him therein. This you may
come to with care and watchfulness.

Again, In " religious actions let God be all."
Here self (I mean carnal self) must be shut out;
otherwise this dead fly will spoil the box of most
precious ointment. It is true, self will be crowding
in ; but you must exclude it carefully; otherwise, if

361

this be the predominant ingredient, all your duties
will be but lost labour. What more pleasing to
God than prayer? this is incense before him. What
more delightful than alms? this is a sacrifice accept-
able and well-pleasing unto him. How happy a
testimony had Cornelius ! " Thy prayers and thy
abns are come up as a memorial before God :" yet,
when self is predominant in those duties, " prayers,
alms," &c. are all but lost.

Rule 5. JV/ien you have done all, he careful to
deny all, and deny not God's mercy in enabling and
assisting you: this must be with all thankfulness
observed; attributing nothing to yourselves, and
giving God all the glory. Take the pattern of holy
David : " But who am I, and what is my people,
that we should offer so willingly? of thine own have
we given thee." And of blessed Paul : *' Not I,
but the grace of God which is within me." And
of good Nehemiah, who, when he had done the most
eminent service for God, cries at last for pardonino-
mercy, " Remember me, O God, concerning this
also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy
mercy !"

Rule 6. Do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Having carefully set out for God in the morning,
and directed your common actions to " him as your
end" throughout the day, doing all in his sight, and
with a desire to please him therein, bring all to
" Christ in the evening," and present all to God by
him, confidently expecting God's acceptance and re-
ward for all that you have done; for this he hath
promised, be your actions ever so mean, because

Q

362

they were done in his service. If you neglect this,
you lose all at last : for God will accept of no sacri-
fice but from the priest's hands; and therefore you
must expect no acceptance with God, nor any reward
from him, but only through Christ. You must be
sure, therefore, not only to make a formal mention
of Christ's name, but to build all your hopes of
success on him alone, and to come to God with an
actual and lively dependence on him.

Thus have I resolved the case propounded. I
will but answer an objection, and briefly press your
duty by some motives, and so conclude.

Objection. You bind heavy burdens. What !
must w^e be always in the traces? surely, this severity
of religion is more than needs !

A?iswer 1. Burden, man! it is thy happiness:
if holiness and pleasing God be a burden, health is
a burden, heaven and happiness are a burden.

Ansisoer 2. This is no other burden than what
God himself hath bound upon your consciences.
*• What art thou, O man, that repliest against God?
Have I put upon you a devised and unnecessary
strictness; or bound that burden upon you which I w^ill
not touch with one of my fingers?" " Say I this as a
man, or saith not the law the same also?" Whose
word is this, " Be thou in the fear of the Lord all the
day long?" " Do all to the glory of God." " Exercise
thyself unto God." What have I pressed but what
the saints have practised ? " One thing I do, I press
towards the mark." " One thing have I desired of
the Lord, that will I seek after." " Thy servant that
is devoted to thy fear." " Enoch walked with God

36S

three hundred years." What is this but what the
Scriptures hath foretold shall be? " They shall
walk up and down in the name of the Lord."
" Then shall be upon the bells of the horses, and
upon every pot in Jerusalem, hoHness to the Lord."
Dispute not against God, but up and be doino- :
it is an ill sign when the heart rises against strict-
ness of the duty: you utterly mistake in thinking
this life of strictness to be bondage. Who have
joy unspeakable and full of glory, who know the
peace that passeth all understanding, if not those
that thus walk with God?

Now, my brethren, let me beseech you to be con-
scientious practitioners of this great lesson: Study
to do always those things that are pleasing unto God.
O! that I knew but how to engage you; that I
could but get you to set these rules before you all
the days of your lives for your practice ! It is not
enough that you give the hearing, and like the
preacher, or approve the doctrine. But, Sirs, what
will you do? Too many of my hearers are like Eze-
kiel's, chap, xxxiii. 32. What say you, brethren,
will you learn with me? O! that I might lead you
on to a thorough acquaintance with the strictness
and power of religion, and the holy frame which
will be God's delight and your felicity. Brethren,
what seek I for? God knows, this is my ambition,
that I may but help you on the way of holiness.
I would not that you should be such bad proficients,
as to be always of the lower form, and keep on
merely in a dull and barren course: my desire for
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364<

you is, that you should not be shrubs, but cedars of
tall growth, choice experience, singular communion,
" walking with God," shining to the conviction of
the world. Will you let me but prevail with you
in so good a design? Why should you mourn at
last, and say how have I hated instruction, and my
heart despised reproof? I have not obeyed the
voice of my teachers, nor inclined my ear to them
that instructed me. That I may invite you to this
holy course, consider:

I. It is very possible; for, first, God is very
easily pleased: he is not like a froward master, that
cannot, that will not, be pleased. If you do but
make it your study and care to please him, and tho-
roughly set your heart to it, your willing mind shall
be accepted; and though you should not go through
with the work, God v.'ill say, thou didst well that
it was in thy heart. When the heart is set to
please the Lord, and we do unfeignedly put to it,
though there be many failings, God will overlook
them all.

Secondly, God hath told you what will please
him, and hath cut out your work to your hand.
You need not say, wherewith shall we come before
the Lord? He hath shown you what is good, and
what he requireth of you. You need not say, who
shall ascend into heaven to bring down the mind of
God from heaven? no, the word is nigh you. God
hath set before you his law, as in a table: on one
side the things that please, on the other those that
displease him. O ! that you may be found among

365

those that choose the things that please him: other-
wise, since you know your Master's will and do it
not, you will be found worthy of many stripes.

Thirdly, God hath given particular rules for the
doing of all your work in the manner that will please
liim. Had God told you only what must be done,
and not how it must be done, you might have been
at a loss ; but he hath prescribed the very manner
how every thing must be done, that you might have
full directions. He hath shown you how you must
pray, and hear, and give alms — how you must carry
it in all circumstances. He hath told you, not only
how you must fast, but how you must eat ; to wit,
with watchfulness and temperance; with an eye to
his glory, as the servant of Jesus Christ. He hath
shown you not only how you should " rest on the
Lord's day," but how you must follow your calling
on the rest; viz. with diligence and discretion; mind-
ing him as your end, as those that herein serve the
Lord Christ. He hath told you how you must
manage your dealings; with equity and charity, do-
ing the very same to others that your conscience tells
you ye would have them, in the like case, do unto
you: how you must sleep; even as those that know
he encompasseth their path and their lying down ;
and how you must awake; to wit, so as to be still
with him.

Fourthly, " God hath given you special helps:

to this end you have the mind of Christ." And

you have " the Spirit of Christ." Indeed, " they

that are in the flesh cannot please God: but you

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366

are not in the flesh, but in tlie Spirit." You that
are believers, have not the law only in your Bibles,
but in your hearts.

II. Jt is very profitable. Glorious advantage
shall you have by this course. First, this is the
most speedy and certain way to assurance, for want
of which many of you complain, but henceforth you
must complain no more; for either you will follow
this course, and then you will have it, or you will
not, and then cease your hypocritical complaint,
when it is through your own wilful disobedience
that you are without it. When once you are habi-
tuated to this course, and find it to be the chief of
your care, and that which your very hearts are set
upon above all things else, " to glorify and please
God, and approve yourselves in his sight," you cannot
want assurance, unless through your own ignorance;
for this is the most undoubted evidence in the world,
that you are the children of God, whatever unallowed
failings you may be guilty of.

Secondly, Hereby you shall be certain of God's
gracious and favourable presence always with you.
See the text, " He that hath sent me is with me;
for I do always those things that please him."

Thirdly, By these means you shall be always
laying up a treasure in heaven. Brethren, " what
are you for?" Are you men for eternity, or are
you for present things ? Is your design for glory,
honour, and immortality? Are you for riches in
the other world for your part in Paradise ? If you
are for true riches, here is your way ; bv this vou

367

shall be daily and hourly increasing the stock of
your own glory. My vehemence is only that fruit
may " abound to your account;" that all vou do
may meet you in heaven; and Christ may show you
"your good works another day, as the widows did
Dorcas her garments."

36S

CASE IV.

IVhai "isoeariiiess in, and unmllingness to, duties may
stand Moith grace, and ^vcJiat not.

For tlie resolving this, some distinctions must be
premised, and then some conclusions elicited.

Distinction, This weariness and unwillingness
must be distinguished, 1. According to the degrees
of it; and so it is either partial and gradual, or else
prevalent and plenary. 2. According to the subject
of it: and so this weariness is either of the members
or else of the mind. 3. According to the prevalence
of it; and so it is either transient and occasional, or
settled and habitual. 4. According to the sense we
have of it ; and so it is either matter of allowance to
us, or matter of annoyance. 5. According to the
cause of it; and so it is either from a fixed dislike
of food, or else from an accidental distemper of the
stomach. 6. According to the effects of it; for it
is either victorious, and makes us give over our duties,
or else abhorred, and repulsed by grace, the Chris-
tian still holding on the way of duty.

Conclusion 1. When this weariness is only in the
members, or at least chiefly, but there is still a wil-
lingness of the mind, this is no matter of questioning
our estate. When the mind outgoes and undoes
the body, and the appetite to duties continues in
vigour, though there is a languishing of the natural
strength and weariness of the bodily organs, this is

369

not our sin, but affliction. But too commonly the
body hath so much influence upon the mind, as
causeth a hstlessness and sluggishness there, and
makes it negligent in its office ; yet when this does
proceed from the failing of the spirits, tired with
bodily labour and exercise, and from the distemper
of the parts, our most pitiful Father considers our
frame, and remembers we are but dust; and our mer-
ciful High Priest, that is not untouched with the
sense of our infirmities, is ready to frame our excuse,
that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

2. Where our weariness in, and unwillingness to,
duties, are only gradual and partial, not plenary and
prevalent, it is not sufficient to conclude ourselves
jrraceless. While tlie twins are together in the
womb, and two nations within our bowels, there will
be contrary inclinations; the flesh will never say
Amen to a g^od ma^i'^:* ••^^ irli'jh, bllt "'ill bc lusting
against the spirit, and will hang back when the
spirit puts forwards, and pull down when the spirit
bends upwards; so that, while corruption remaineth,
there will be always a dissenting part and continual
conflicts, whence it is no wonder there should arise
some weariness; yet the spirit is the prevailing in-
terest, and, though often-times foiled, yet hath mostly
the mastery of the combat, and carries it against the
flesh, though not without much resistance and reluc-
tance from the rebel opponent.

3. When this weariness is only transient, during
the present temptation or defection, (which, as soon
as the tried soul can get out of it, returns to its
former temper and pleasure in holy duties,) there is

370

only matter of humiliation. But, when it is the
settled, permanent, and habitual frame of the mind,
it is a matter of questioning our condition. The
holy Psalmist, under a desertion, was even almost
persuaded to give over with religion; but, when he
is himself, nothing is so sweet, nothing so lovely
and desirable to him, as the duties of holiness. But
for them who have, in their ordinary settled course
and frame, no mind to duties, but are driven to them
by conscience, or engaged by company or custom, or
the like, their case is fearful in that measure, that
duty is unpleasant, and not loved.

4. Where this weariness of, and unwillingness to,
duties are painful and grievous, as a sore in the eye,
or a sickness in the heart, the state is good; but,
where it is naturally allowed, and meets with little
or no resistance, it is a bad sign; for this argues
thcrfi is nothing but fleish, and thoro ia no contrary
principle in such a heart; for if there were, the spirit
would at least make opposition. This was the very
frame of those unsanctified sinners that counted the
Sabbaths and services of God an unprofitable burden,
a very weariness, a bondage not to be borne. A
gracious heart, when under such a distemper as that
God's service seems a weariness, is even weary of
himself: whilst this is burdensome, he is a burden
to himself; he cannot enjoy himself, while in such a
frame wherein he cannot enjoy God; and, if this be
the case, our state is good, though the frame be bad.

5. Where this weariness and unwillingness are
not from a rooted dislike of the food, but an accidental
and preternatural indisposition of the stomach, or a

871

being disappointed of God's presence in duties, the
main state is safe. You know under a distemper
the appetite may loathe and nauseate the food, that
a man doth love above all other meats when he is
well; and so it is here. Do you, when you are
yourselves, relish more sweetness in God's service
than in your meats and drinks? Are no sweets so
delightful to you as fellowship and communion with
God, when you can attain to them in duties ? Do
you come away discontented because you cannot
meet with God? Is the ground why your coun-
tenances fall, and your hearts are discouraged, be-
cause you have with them toiled and spread the net,
and have not caught what you went for, or because
you have no answer or mcome from God? If it
be thus, it is a sign your hearts are set upon God,
and tlhat you place the happiness and comfort of your
lives in God, and that so your state is safe : other-
wise when there is a fixed antipathy to duties, and
an habitual dishke to them, and contrariety to them,
the case is very sad.

6. Where our weariness and unwillingness are
such as make us give over our duties, so as to live
in the ordinary neglect of them, it is a fearful sign:
but where, notwithstanding present discouragements,
we hold on in the performance of our duties, and a
humble waiting on God for removing our difficulties
till we are brought to a better frame ; this argues
well. The church herself may be greatly deserted ;
but then she gives not over duties, but seeks after
her beloved, and makes diligent inquiry, and will
not be at rest till she hath found him : but the hy-

372

pocrite gives up, and will not wait upon the Lord
any longer. Not but that a deserted soul may,
under the violence of temptations, omit duties for a
time; but his condition during this is most painful,
restless, and grievous to him, and he quickly returns
again, and never comes to live quiet in the ordinary
omission of known duties.

7. When our weariness and unwillingness are
such as make us fall out with the service of Christ,
and willing to ease durselves of his yoke and throw
off his burden, this is a bad sign; but when we fall
out with ourselves, and justify and approve Christ's
ways and service, it is well. Thus it was with Paul;
he doth not quarrel with the law as too strict and
severe, nor think of breaking off his bands and taking
his liberty; but he pleads for the law, and greatly
approves it and commends it, and condemns the back-
wardness of his own nature. Whep men are more
willing to be rid of Christ's burden than of the dis-
temper that makes it grievous ; and cast about for
ease, by widening their bands, and not by bring-
ing their minds to them, it is a woful discovery of
an unsound heart.

FINIS.

Printed by W. ColUns & Co.
Glasgow.

Princeton

Theological Sem,;a«Ub'a^^^^^

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